The DIZYGOTIC Project Alpha ‘Malice at the Palace’ Immortalises Infamous NBA Brawl
Arizona/Oregon-based brand Subscribe to our Newsletter Subscribe to our Newsletter ‘Malice at the Palace’ kicks. This year is the 19th anniversary of the ‘Malice at the Palace’ brawl, a fight that took place during the final minutes of a game on November 19, 2004 between the Indiana Pacers, the Detroit Pistons, and fans.
Pacers's Ron Artest committed a foul against Pistons's centre Ben Wallace, and when Wallace confronted Artest, the fight spread team wide. Just as game officials were de-escalating, a drink thrown from a fan in the stands reignited the fight and it became an all-out brawl involving spectators. The fight lives in notoriety as one of the darker moments in NBA history and for its impact on league security and safety practices for players and fans. The nickname for the fight comes from the arena where the brawl took place, The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.
Immortalising the incident in sneaker form, The Project Alpha mismatch features the colour themes from the Pacers and Pistons 2004 acquisition team jerseys. Each shoe is decorated with details for die-hard NBA fans, including Wallace and Artest’s numbers on their respective shoe’s heel, the date of the brawl on the right insole and the time left on the clock along with the unfinished game score on the left insole. In a cheeky finishing touch, the blue cup thrown at Artest is on the tongue of the Pistons shoe.