Reggie Miller was always one of the more formidable foes in NBA history thanks to his brand of trash talk and three-point shooting. Unfortunately, he was never able to get over the hump and win an NBA championship, even though he made it to the Finals back in the year 2000. In 1998, Miller went up against Jordan in the Eastern Conference Finals, which as we all know by now, Jordan won en-route to his sixth championship.

In “The Last Dance,” Miller spoke about going up against MJ and what he was hoping to accomplish at the time. As he explains, Miller had the mentality that he was going to force Jordan into retirement.

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“We all looked at the Bulls as the standard model of success,” Miller said,  Brad Botkin of CBS Sports. “They were considered the best at that time. But we felt, and I feel to this day, we were the better team. The whole thing is, there was whispers that this was going to be Mike’s last year. So I think a perfect storm was brewing. In my mind, I was thinking … ‘this is it. You’re going to retire Michael Jordan.’”

Jordan eventually did retire after that season although it had absolutely nothing to do with Miller and the Pacers. Jordan always seemed to have Miller’s number and that never changed up until the very end.

Victor Oladipo was cementing himself as a bonafide star in the NBA until a brutal knee injury kept him out of the Indiana Pacers lineup for close to a year. As it stands, Oladipo has one year left on his deal following this season and it remains to be seen whether or not the Pacers are going to be able to keep him. Oladipo is currently signed to a 4-year deal worth $84 million and based on his play, you would think his next contract would be worth a lot more.

Well, according to Ian Begley of SNY, this is not the case. As he reports, prior to the start of this season, Oladipo was offered a 4-year deal worth just $80 million, which would be a pay cut. It is rumored that Oladipo was insulted by this offer and immediately turned it down.

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Considering Oladipo’s injury and the uncertainty surrounding it, there is no surprise that the Pacers would come through with such a lowball offer. They have numerous large contracts on the roster right now and they need to do everything in their power to keep the costs down for the coming seasons.

However, if Oladipo and the Pacers can’t find a solution, then there is a chance he could land elsewhere for the 2021-2022 season.

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Michael Jordan is known as not just the best basketball player of all time but one of the greatest trash talkers as well. Jordan could be pretty ruthless with what he told his opponents and more often than not, this led to some longlasting hatred. One of his biggest rivals back in the 1990s was none other than Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers. If it wasn’t for MJ, Miller probably would have won an NBA title although it simply never came to fruition.

In light of “The Last Dance,” Dan Patrick had Miller on his show today where they talked about a whole plethora of topics, including Jordan. At one point, Patrick asked Miller what he would do if he saw Jordan at dinner. As Miller explains, there would simply be too much resentment there for the meeting to be civil.

Per Dan Patrick:

Patrick: What would you say if you sat down with him at dinner?

Miller: (pause)…..I might punch him

Patrick: Are you being serious?

Miller: (pause)….man, there was a lot of stuff being thrown back and forth…

With these comments in mind, it’s clear that Jordan must have said something foul to Miller out on the court. Not to mention, consistently losing to the same person over and over again can certainly weigh on one’s spirit.

Hopefully, Miller and Jordan can patch things up one day.

Lance Stephenson is reportedly closing in on his return to the NBA following a season with the Chinese Basketball Association's Liaoning Flying Leopards. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Stephenson is "in strong talks" to return to the Indiana Pacers, so long as he is granted permission to get out of his contract with the Flying Leopards.

The Pacers (39-25) currently hold the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference but they are in need of a veteran wing as they gear up for the post-season following injuries to Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Doug McDermott.

In October 2006, several members of the Indiana Pacers were involved in a chaotic altercation outside a strip club, during which Stephen Jackson was run over by a car and several gun shots were fired. If you don't recall that infamous incident, you can read the old ESPN report here, or you can just sit back and listen to Jackson's version of what went down on the latest episode of his and Matt Barnes' "All The Smoke" podcast.

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According to Jackson, he was just about to pull out of the parking lot at Club Rio when he saw Jamaal Tinsley being chased out of the building by a group of men that they had recently argued with. Naturally, Captain Jack grabbed his gun and came to his teammate aid. Says Jackson:

"By the time I get over there it's like we about to fight, so I hit one of them with my pistol. We get to fighting, more dudes come up out the club. I been in that position to many times - I know before I get surrounded and stomped out I'm gonna let off some warning shots. I let two off. By that time, I was running to my car. Somebody got in their car and sized me up in the parking lot and hit me going about 35-40 miles per hour - Boom! Knocked me in the air, I hit the ground... my face just hitting the ground, I stand up all my teeth gone, my lips' shattered."

Jackson went on to describe how he came to his senses after one of his teammates started shooting at the vehicle, and then Jackson, too, emptied his clip until he passed out. Again, this is happened just weeks before Jackson, Tinsley and the rest of the Pacers were preparing to kick off the 2006 NBA season.

Check out Jackson's recollection of events in the video embedded below.

The Leon Rose era in New York started off on a high note on Monday night, as the Knicks picked up a hard fought victory over the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. You wouldn't know it though, because the only chatter involving the Knicks today is centered around their bubbling beef with longtime fan Spike Lee.

And as the Knicks' feud with Spike Lee gets uglier by the minute, Reggie Miller is somewhere grinning from ear to ear.

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In response to an article about Spike's beef with his beloved franchise, the Indiana Pacers legend tweeted, "OOOOHHHHH have the MIGHTY have fallen.. This wouldn’t happen at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, maybe finally time to switch your allegiance Spike..."

Miller's tweet came just moments after the Knicks issued a statement describing Lee's claims as "laughable" and accusing him of creating "a false controversy to perpetuate drama."

Miami Heat shooting guard Jimmy Butler and Indiana Pacers forward TJ Warren have both been fined by the NBA for their little on-court scuffle on Wednesday night - but the fines are not equal. According to The New York Times' Marc Stein, Warren was fined $25,000 and Butler $35,000.

The reason for the $10,000 difference? Butler "escalated the incident on social media."

Miami Heat shooting guard Jimmy Butler has already circled March 20 on his calendar because he can't wait to see TJ Warren again. During the third quarter of Miami's 122-108 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, Butler and Warren exchanged some words and literally went head-to-head before teammates stepped in to separate them.

Warren was ultimately ejected and Butler continued to talk his trash well after the game was over.

For 24 seasons, Vince Carter has been a dominating force in the NBA. The 42-year-old league veteran is currently a shooting guard/forward for the Atlanta Hawks, but his career has taken him to many cities since 1998. He began with the Toronto Raptors (after being traded from the Golden State Warriors on draft night), then onto the New Jersey Nets, then had a brief stint with the Orlando Magic, a year with the Phoenix Suns, then over to the Dallas Mavericks before moving to the Memphis Grizzlies, then he was with the Sacramento Kings for a bit before making a home with the Hawks.

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Carter’s career highlights include being a Team USA Olympics gold-winner, a two-time All-NBA, an eight-time All-Star, Slam Dunk champion in 2000 and Rookie of the Year back in 1999. He’s had a long, successful ride in the NBA for all of these years, and he’s recently announced that this season will be his last. 

During Saturday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, Carter played 18 minutes and scored three points. It may not seem like much, but it was a moment in NBA history that no one else had accomplished. Carter has become the first player in the NBA to appear in four separate decades, and it seems like a great way to bow out into retirement. Check out a collection of Carter’s best plays from each season of his career below.

Former NBA commissioner David Stern tragically past away this past week at the age of 77. Stern was known for his incredible work with the NBA that saw the league become a global brand. Stern helped make the league what it is today and numerous players paid their respects to the man who pioneered a whole era. If you ever dreamt about playing in the NBA, Stern was always a part of that dream as he would be the man you shake hands with on your draft day. This fantasy is something Kawhi Leonard knows all too well.

According to Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points, Leonard was recently asked about Stern's impact and his memories of the former commish. As the Clippers star explained, he always thought about walking across the draft day stage and shaking Stern's hand. Luckily for Kawhi, it was a fantasy he got to live out.