It is rare for an NBA player’s off-court story to be as epic as his on-court one. However, Stephen Jackson has one such story about being loyal to his teammates when he was with the Indiana Pacers. And it’s one that needs to be heard to be believed.
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Let’s turn the clock back to 2005. This was one season after the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl between Indiana and the Detroit Pistons. It’s often referred to as one of the worst incidents in sports history. Jackson was loyal to his Pacer teammates on that night, but it wasn’t the last time.
The 47-year-old appeared on Byron Scott’s Fastbreak to share a wild tale about a shootout he got into with some of his teammates at a strip club after one of the show hosts asked him to remember a time when “loyalty bit him in the a**.”
“The year after the brawl, we [were] at a strip club, the whole team decides to go during training camp,” Jackson began. “We all go, Al Harrington decides to leave early so I’m leaving with Al to go to another spot. As we’re leaving, Jamaal Tinsley is coming out [of] the club but some guys are chasing him.”
Fortunately, SJ and the boys weren’t traveling without some weaponry. “About two weeks prior to that, we all got our gun licenses legally. So I had mine on me. So when they start chasing him, I end up letting a couple of shots off in the air for people to get away from him,” he added, before revealing the most gruesome part of the experience.
“And during that time, while we’re scuffling, a guy gets in his car and hits me going 45mph. Knocks me in the air, I hit the ground, he knocks all my teeth out. All my gums, my lips shatter.”
Yet somehow, Stephen was still alive, and still pissed. “I jumped right up, because [of] my adrenaline; I was just happy I wasn’t dead. I jumped with the car, he didn’t take my legs from under me. He had to turn around to get out [of] the lot, and when he turned around, the lights hit my eyes and woke me up.”
“As he is pulling out [of] the lot, I just snap out of it, grab my gun, start shooting at him, one of my teammates is shooting at him, and as I’m shooting at him, I pass out.”
Thank goodness Jackson managed to regain consciousness, but the situation around him drastically changed while he was knocked out.
“I wake up in the police car in handcuffs, me and Marquis Daniels. Marquis Daniels is kicking the door, I’m unconscious at this point. He’s kicking the door because my mouth is shattered, blood everywhere, my teeth gone, so he’s thinking I’m dying, but I’m really, because of my adrenaline, I’m passed out.”
“The police take us out, they’re like ‘We know y’all. We got the cameras.’ They seen what happened. They [are] letting us go. During that time, I snapped back into street mode. I’m ready to hurt somebody then.”
Jackson later joked that he was in the mindset of Boyz n the Hood, the famous Ice Cube movie about Los Angeles street gangs. “During that time, Jermaine O’Neal and all my teammates pulled up to the gas station. This is the funniest part. I’m in doughboy mode. Boyz in the Hood. I’m ready to spray something up,” he stated.
However, O’Neal couldn’t help but call out SJ for his mouth looking horrific. “Jermaine O’Neal stop me. He’s like ‘Jack I feel everything you saying. I’m mad too, but I’m looking at your mouth. You HAVE to go to the hospital.’ Soon as he said that, it started hurting so bad.”
Stephen then detailed how doctors had to handle his mouth, and it wasn’t good. “I had to have plastic surgery on my lips and my mouth with no anesthesia,” Jackson revealed. He confirmed that his wife and teammates were by his side as doctors sawed off pieces of his swollen lip before sewing it shut.
Finally, after a two-hour surgery, he was able to rest. “Worst pain I ever felt in my life. From being loyal to a teammate,” added Jackson, concluding his story.
The incident was heavily reported back in the day, but a detailed play-by-play has never really come out. SJ is not only lucky to still be alive, but the fact that he can still walk and retell the wild tale is truly a miracle.
It’s one of those stories that no Hollywood screenwriter could write and no AI could ever fathom. Jackson’s impact as a player was certainly felt in the NBA, but he should now be looked at as an all-time teammate as well. Because if he had a choice to go back and do it again, it feels like SJ would still remain that loyal to his teammates.
