Former Indiana Pacers shooting guard, Reggie Miller, and the New York Knicks were arch-enemies in the 1990s and engaged in various playoff encounters. The NBA world knows the persistent gesturing and trash-talks between Knicks superfan, Spike Lee, and Miller. During the 2024 ECSF series between the Knicks and the Pacers, Miller learned that the Knicks fans are still hostile towards him.
Advertisement
The Pacers legend went to his former teammate Mark Jackson’s podcast, Come and Talk 2 Me, and discussed Game 2 between the Knicks and the Pacers in Madison Square Garden. He felt the Knicks fans’ antagonism while doing his job as the color commentator for TNT.
Miller alluded to the “F**k you” chants aimed towards him. He called out the entitled Knicks for waiting till the end of the game to unleash the chants after a win was confirmed,
“This is why I cannot stand the Knicks because, to me, they’re the front runners. They think they are god’s gift to basketball… The whole game was great and there’s 30 seconds on the clock and you are finally gonna win the Game 2. That’s when the chant starts ‘F You Reggie’.”
Miller also recalled how Josh Hart aggravated the situation by coming to the commentators’ table and bringing further attention to the chants. This made the chants go viral as his words were caught on the broadcasting mics and it appeared that Hart was himself saying “F*** You” to Miller when he was slyly bringing his attention to them.
Talking about his antics, Miller brought up The Godfather analogy in which actor Al Pacino’s character Michael Corleone was dragged into the affairs of the mafia despite his reluctance.
“Why am I being dragged into the series? I’m here to work but like Michael Corleone in The Godfather just when I thought I was out, he pulled me into the series,” Miller hilariously added.
Afterward, Miller hilariously recalled feeling stoked when his former squad eliminated his perennial nemesis. Earlier, when the Pacers outsmarted the Knicks in MSG during Game 7, he took to Instagram and trolled the squad.
Reggie Miller had his poetic justice
In an Insta post, after the Pacers defeated the Knicks for a ticket to the 2024 ECF, Reggie Miller got a golden chance to take shots at them. While lauding Jalen Brunson’s heroics, he took the famous “Going to Cancun” jibe at him and his teammates. To add a more dramatic touch, he also added the video of Hart’s viral moment with him in Game 2 of the ECSF series,
“When the series CHANGED!! Jalen Brunson you’re a true BALLER, been the best player in these playoffs, but you and your boys can all heal up together on some beautiful beaches in Cancun, please enjoy!! #PacersKnicksRivalryLives #GodDontLikeUgly”.
View this post on Instagram
It is not surprising that his rivalry with the Knicks has carried well past his playing career. The Knicks fans are terrific at remembering their history and won’t let a chance slip at bad-mouthing their perpetual nemesis like Reggie Miller.
However, they drew the short end of the stick in the aftermath of the Miller chants. There is no doubt that the former Pacers superstar would have been licking his lips after seeing the Knicks getting eliminated by his former squad.
