Former Indiana Pacers guard Mark Jackson recently revealed the extent to which his former teammate Reggie Miller’s trash talk with New York Knicks fans went. During a recent episode of Come And Talk 2 Me’s The Mark Jackson Show, the 58-year-old touched upon how Miller would talk trash to the Knicks fans even off the court. Things got so off the rails that Miller couldn’t even venture out publicly to avoid confrontation with Knicks fans.
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On his pod, Jackson acknowledged Miller as the best trash-talker of all time. He also revealed how he used to rev the sharpshooter up before Knicks games and how Miller got so amped up that he’d start his trash-talking from the team bus itself. However, these actions by the former Pacers guard also had its repercussions.
“This dude [Miller], I hype him so much he bangs out the back of the bus window and he’s yelling and screaming at people [in front of Madison Square Garden]. Like dude, what are you doing man, this New York city. He couldn’t even go out. I had to go get breakfast sandwiches for both of us because it was safe for me in New York City but it wasn’t safe for him,” Jackson told his son Bluu in episode 11 of his pod.
During the 1994 and 1995 playoffs, the rivalry between the Knicks and the Pacers peaked as they clashed twice in a row. The trash-talk between die-hard Knicks fan Spike Lee and Miller became the signature of these battles. During Game 1 of the 1995 second round series, the sharpshooter stunned Lee and his Knicks as he scored 8 points in 9 seconds to complete a brilliant comeback. After the comeback, Miller put on a “choke sign” and asked the famous director to “shut up”.
But those mid-1990s battles weren’t the end of the Knicks-Pacers saga. The two rivals would clash three times by the end of the decade. When it was all said and done, Patrick Ewing and his Knicks won more often. However, despite the losses, the Pacers trash-talker was always the loudest on the court.
Reggie Miller has no regrets
To this day, Miller shows no regrets about the way he played the game. In a 2023 interview with IndyStar, Miller was asked his “favorite trash talk moment”. The former Pacers guard revealed that he loved every time he talked trash. He added, “I pretty much have always had the last word. Do I regret any of them? No, I don’t. I said it? I meant it.”
However, despite this endless barrage, he would never poke the bear. Miller wouldn’t spew too many inflammatory words in front of Michael Jordan. In an interview, Miller stated, “He [MJ] might have been the one player I didn’t talk to really. He might have been the one player who could really embarrass you.”
Despite not talking much trash to MJ, the 5X All-Star had a lot of great moments against him. He once hit a game-winner after fending off Jordan in an inbound situation. However, during the Pacers’ solitary playoff series against MJ and the Bulls in 1998, Miller wasn’t able to get past them.
