Phoenix Suns swingman Josh Jackson can still recall one of the most vivid memories of his childhood, being there the night the NBA took a turn to eliminate violence from the sport, sitting right at mid-court, about 20 rows up from where The Malice at the Palace took place, as the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers were involved in a huge brawl forever etched in league history.

Josh Jackson was drafted by the Suns last year, and the shooting guard admitted to throwing a water bottle during the melee.

“I remember seeing so many people everywhere fighting. I remember [then-Indiana Pacers forward] Jermaine O’Neal getting hit with a chair. That was one of my most vivid memories,” Jackson wrote in a diary entry for The Undefeated. “I remember Ron Artest laying on the scorer’s table and someone throwing a drink on him.

“I was looking around and everyone was throwing something onto the court. I am not going to lie. I threw a water bottle. Why? It’s my home team. I’m a Pistons fan. What? The Pacers came in here throwing punches on my favorite players. I couldn’t have that. But that is neither here nor there.”

Josh Jackson may be on the Suns, but he tuned in and saw the brawl between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. He compared the two fights, claiming “I haven’t seen nothing like that since [2004].”

The brawl between the Pistons and Pacers involved the fans, as Artest raced to the stands to confront those who threw drinks at him — something no NBA executive ever expected to see.

Following that caustic event, the league put rules in place to avoid fighting at all costs, placing heavy suspensions on those who engaged in fisticuffs. Furthermore, the league prohibited hostile interaction with fans, as it feared it would pin a mutiny of their prized product in an era where interest in the sport was at an all-time high. Josh Jackson will probably never experience such a thing with the Suns, but it was a reminder of how heated things can get in the NBA.