Jermaine O'Neal, Metta World Peace Spoke for 1st Time in 14 Years in June

Former Indiana Pacers teammates Jermaine O'Neal and Metta World Peace spoke in June for the first time in 14 years.

According to J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star, O'Neal and World Peace spoke at least a week before they played in the BIG3 league in Chicago on June 29.

O'Neal and World Peace were teammates in Indiana from the 2001-02 season until World Peace was traded to the Sacramento Kings during the 2005-06 campaign.

O'Neal said to Michael that one thing World Peace told him during their recent discussion stood out to him most: "He just told me, 'Man, the year we won 61 games you should've won MVP.' He's never said that to me. We have a really good relationship now. Maturity is everything."

Things soured between O'Neal and World Peace (then known as Ron Artest) after the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl in 2004 that saw World Peace enter the stands to fight a fan during a road game against the Detroit Pistons.

That resulted in World Peace being suspended for 86 games.

With regard to the incident, O'Neal said, "I don't know if I was salty [over the brawl]. We just didn't have the best relationship in Indy."

The 39-year-old O'Neal was a six-time NBA All-Star and enjoyed stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.

He last played in the NBA in 2013-14.

World Peace spent 17 seasons in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, Pacers, Kings, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

He was named an All-Star once, and he also won a championship with the Lakers. He last appeared in an NBA game in 2016-17.

In the five seasons O'Neal and World Peace spent together, the Pacers reached the playoffs five times, going all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals on one occasion.