Artest talks about Auburn Hill again: Pacers fans have always hated me and can unleash my burden if I win this year

On June 14, the NBA Finals will face off to G4 today. While on a podcast, former Pacers star Artest revisited the infamous Auburn Hill incident and expressed his hope that the Pacers will win the championship so that it can help him unload his burden.

As early as November 19, 2004, the Pistons played against the Pacers at home, the NBA had the largest, most punished and most severely affected group fight in history, known as the Auburn Palace Brawl. In response, David Stern, then the NBA president, issued the toughest fine in history. Among them, Artest was suspended for the entire season (73 regular season games + 13 playoff games), Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal was suspended for 25 games (after reduced to 15 games), Anthony Johnson was suspended for 5 games, and Reggie Miller (not played) was suspended for 1 game.

This incident brought a huge blow to the Pacers. They were the Eastern Conference regular season champions and Eastern Conference Finals teams last season. They were also regarded as favorites to win the championship in the 2004-05 season, but they missed the championship due to the Auburn Hill incident. The team's first player in history, Reggie Miller, also retired after that season.

When participating in the Greene's podcast, Artest talked about this again, saying: "My wife hopes the Pacers will win the championship because I think we should have been able to win the championship if that didn't happen that year. So if the Pacers won the championship this year, I feel like I have been carrying a 20-year burden on my body and I can put it down."

Then Artest continued: "Pacers fans have been since that incident. I was very angry and resentful towards me. They always supported us at that time and thought we could win the championship. I watched the ball on the spot in the finals G3, which made me feel half of the burden I carried, which is why I support the Pacers so much. This Pacers reminded me of the 04 Pistons that were united, made no mistakes, and had no superstars. In the end, the Pistons won the championship. "

Do you think the Pacers can win the championship this year? Welcome to give your opinions in the comment section.