Happy 60th Birthday, Reggie Miller
- Jake C
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Cover photo: The Indiana Pacers’ Reggie Miller shoots over the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant during Game 1 of the 2000 NBA Finals. Photo credit: John Biever.
An NBA legend celebrates a milestone birthday on August 24 as Hall of Famer Reggie Miller turns 60.
Before he became the most prolific 3-point shooter that the NBA had ever seen, Miller was not even the best hoops player in the Miller family.
Reggie’s sister Cheryl scored 105 points in a 1982 game against Notre Vista High School. Cheryl, one year older than Reggie, played her high school ball at Riverside Polytechnic, as did her younger brother.
While his sister throughout her college career at USC established herself as perhaps the best women’s hoops player ever, Reggie began to make a name for himself at UCLA, where he played from 1983-1987.
As a Bruin, Miller started 93 of 122 games and averaged 17.2 points on 54.7% shooting (11.5 attempts). He led the nation in scoring as a junior at 25.9 points per game and as a senior averaged 22.3 points per. He was 2-time All-Pac 10 and was the 1987 Pac 10 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Drafted 11th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, Miller spent his entire 18-year career in Indianapolis, becoming the ABA-NBA bridge from ABA greats Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, and Roger Brown. Truthfully, the Pacer franchise is still looking for their next all-time great player.
Miller started 71 games over his first two seasons and averaged 10.0 points as a rookie and 16.0 points in his second season. In his third season, he was an all-star for the first time and proceeded to run off four consecutive seasons of 82 games played.
Reggie Miller’s Stats from 1989-90 to 1992-93
1989-90: 24.6 points, 51.4% FG (15.7 FGA), 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 41.4% 3PT, 86.8% FT, 38.9 minutes, 82 games, All-Star
1990-91: 22.6 points, 51.2% FG (14.2 FGA), 4.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 34.8% 3PT, 91.8% FT (1st), 36.2 minutes, 82 games
1991-92: 20.7 points, 50.1% FG (13.7 FGA), 3.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 37.8% 3PT, 85.8% FT, 38.0 minutes, 82 games
1992-93: 21.2 points, 47.9% FG (14.5 FGA), 3.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 39.9% 3PT (2.0 makes per game, 1st), 88.0% FT, 36.0 minutes, 82 games
Miller was drafted to a 41-win team, but in his first two seasons the Pacers did not make the postseason. In ‘89-‘90, the team made the playoffs, beginning a run of seven consecutive seasons of playoff appearances.
In 1993-94, under Larry Brown, the Pacers won 47 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals. The team also made the Conference Finals the next year in 1995. Miller averaged 19.9 points in ‘93-‘94 (50.3% FG, 79 games), and 19.6 points (46.2% FG, 81 games) in ‘94-‘95. He was an all-star in 1995 and made 3rd team All-NBA, feats he would repeat in ‘95-‘96 when he averaged 21.1 points per game.
Miller’s most memorable playoff moment came in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. With 18.7 seconds left in the game, Miller drilled a triple from the left wing. The Pacers pressed, Miller may or may not have lightly shoved Knick guard Greg Anthony, and the inbound pass was intercepted by Miller. The guard turned towards the 3-point line and took one dribble before turning around and launching another trifecta that hit bottom. Miller ended the game with two free-throws, and Anthony at the other end drove and lost his footing and scrambled from the floor to find Patrick Ewing just outside the key who could not get a shot off. The Pacers won the game 107-105, and Miller, despite shooting just 7-of-18 from the field, made three of his seven 3-point attempts and 14-of-15 from the line. He finished the game with 31 points.
One year earlier, Miller’s choke gesture towards the Madison Square Garden crowd became an iconic celebratory moment in league history. It was Game 5 of the Conference Finals, and the Pacers trailed by twelve points going into the fourth quarter. The road team outscored the Knicks 35-16 in the final frame, stunning Spike Lee and the MSG crowd. Miller scored 39 points in 39 minutes (14-of-26 from the field and 6-of-11 from distance) in the 93-86 Pacer win that gave the road team their third straight win of the series after dropping the first two contests.
The next historic playoff moment for the Hall of Famer came against the Chicago Bulls in Game 4 of the ‘98 Eastern Conference Finals at Market Square Arena.
Coming up through the middle of the half-court from the baseline, Miller gave Michael Jordan a light push, moved left, and caught the inbound pass from Derrick McKey. Miller rose and hit over Jordan, racing down the floor in excitement. At the other end, Jordan’s double-pump triple attempt hit the glass and bounced out of the hoop. Miller finished the game with 15 points in the Pacers’ 96-94 win. That season, Miller made 3rd team All-NBA when he averaged 19.5 points on 47.7% shooting in 81 games.
In the 1999-00 season, Miller made the All-Star team for the fifth and final time. He averaged 18.1 points on 44.8% shooting in 81 games as the Pacers won 56 games and won the Eastern Conference. In the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Miller averaged 24.3 points per game on 41.3% shooting from the field and 37.5% from downtown.
Miller’s final ice cold playoff moment came in the 2002 playoffs against the New Jersey Nets in New Jersey.
After the Nets’ Richard Jefferson missed a free-throw, Pacer center Jermaine O’Neal rebounded the ball and got it to point guard Kevin Ollie, who pushed the ball up the left side, past half-court, and found Miller towards the middle of the floor just a couple feet outside of the mid-court logo. Miller turned and improbably banked in the long distance attempt that he seemingly shot from Westchester. The shot forced overtime. That season, Miller averaged 16.5 points on 45.3% shooting in 79 games.
Miller played three more seasons before he retired following the ‘04-‘05 season at the age of 39. In his final campaign, he posted 14.8 points on 43.7% from the field (10.9 attempts).
Throughout his career, the skinny sniper was an extremely durable player, playing all 82 games five times, 81 games five times, and 80 games once. The most games that he missed in a season was his final season, when he played in 66 games. He started 1,304 out of 1,389 career games and averaged 34.3 minutes per game, 12.6 shots per game. He averaged 18.2 points in his career on 47.1% from the field, 39.5% from 3-point range, and 88.8% from the free-throw line. Five times, he led the NBA in free-throw percentage. Miller’s ‘89-‘90 average of 24.6 points was a career-high, and he averaged over 20 points per game in five additional seasons. Three times, he made 3rd team All-NBA. In 1996, he was a member of the US Men’s Olympic Basketball team that won Gold in Atlanta.
On March 30, 2006, the Pacers retired Miller’s No. 31. In 2012, Miller was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Said Miller’s former head coach Brown about his former star’s capabilities in the clutch:
“There's a lot of guys that are great players, but some guys handle pressure situations better than others. (Reggie) was one in my mind that never was afraid to take a big shot, make a big play, or make a big free throw. That's a rare gift.”
Miller’s NBA record of 2,560 made 3-pointers stood until 2011, when Ray Allen broke the record. Stephen Curry is the current all-time threes leader.
But there is no Ray without Reggie, and no Curry without Reggie and Ray. In an era mostly run by Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Miller was one of the league’s best guards and the unmistakable face of a small market team, which was a refreshing situation especially given the player movement that happens more frequently in today’s era with free agency being so paramount.
One of the most clutch players in league history.
Happy 60th, Reggie Miller.
Comments