The Pacers are finally back in the NBA Finals—25 years after their first trip! They beat the Knicks again in six games, just like back in 2000. That year, Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose were losing it in MSG, jumping and celebrating like crazy. This time, the vibe was a little more low-key but just as emotional, right in front of their home crowd. Reggie and Rose were there courtside, soaking it all in. And guess who else was there? Jermaine O’Neal, right alongside Reggie, especially during the intense Game 4, feeling every moment of this wild ride.

Jermaine O’Neal’s story didn’t begin under bright lights—it began in hardship. Straight outta high school in ’96, he landed in Portland, but let’s be honest—it wasn’t the dream. Then came the trade in 2000 to Indiana, and suddenly, this 6’10” kid from a broken home found a new mission. Only, as he would later reveal, that Pacers journey wasn’t about just him. It was about someone else—someone now calling games from the booth, someone already enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

That someone was Reggie Miller. And when O’Neal opened up about his true motivation on the Out the Mud Podcast—saying, “I had some dope teammates; Reggie’s meant the most to me and my career. Make no mistake. Everything I did wasn’t even about me”—Miller couldn’t help but respond. Reposting the clip, he wrote: “And you CARRIED US/ME!!! Will always appreciate your hard work.” To which O’Neal replied, full of heart: “Love you my brother!”

While talking on Out the Mod podcast, O’Neal shared a moment that stuck with him forever. “We get to the arena and Reggie’s there and Reggie’s like, ‘yo, I’m let you be whatever you wanna be as long as you work for it,’” O’Neal recalled. “Saying got no problem with you. I got no problem with you, we need to get younger and we’re gonna rock with you, cause you’ve earned it.’”

For a young big man still searching for belonging—especially while carrying the weight of a fractured relationship with his father—that wasn’t just encouragement, it was everything. “And right away I knew, that was my opportunity.” But O’Neal made it clear—this journey wasn’t just about his own rise.  “I knew I had to be good for him to have an opportunity to try [to] win the championship,” he said.

That brotherhood wasn’t just a moment—it lasted. From 2000 to 2008, Miller and O’Neal shared the court in Indiana and built something deeper than a professional connection. Their bond reached its peak during Reggie’s final season in 2004–05. That loyalty showed up in the most unexpected moment.

During Reggie’s final season, O’Neal was on pace to break the Pacers’ single-game scoring record with 55 points—but he subbed himself out. Why? Because Reggie still held the record with 57, and Jermaine wanted him to keep it, as reported by Sports Illustrated. That says everything. Miller retired a five-time All-Star and still holds that record. O’Neal, a six-time All-Star himself, never beat that 55—but to him, honoring Reggie mattered more than rewriting history.