It was 25 years ago this past summer when the Indiana Pacers had the No. 11 pick in the first round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft and they had two people on their radar. A local person who just led the University of Indiana Hoosiers to a National Championship and a UCLA guard who was from Riverside, CA that was really unknown to most of the country. Current Pacers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh decided to select at No. 11 that unknown person from UCLA. The result he helped the Pacers become one of the best teams in the NBA and he had one of the best careers one could dream of. Individually he was incredible, the team he played his entire career for became incredible and on Friday, Sept. 7 he became the second person in his family to be enshrined forever in Springfield, OH along with some of the greatest basketball players, coaches, media people and innovators of all-time.
Reggie Miller who played all 18 of his seasons with the Pacers and currently is an analyst with the NBA on TNT/NBA TV was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2012 class.
The current color analyst for the NBA on TNT joined Mel Daniels, Phil Knight, Katrina McClain, Don Nelson, Hank Nichols, Ralph Sampson, Chet Walker, Lidia Alexeeva, the All American Red Heads and Jamaal Wilkes.
He became the second person in his family to receiver that honor. His older sister Cheryl Miller who also works for the NBA on TNT as a sideline analyst was inducted into the Hall of Fame 17 years ago. She along with fellow hall of famers Los Angeles Lakers great and NBA on ESPN studio analyst Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Class of 2002) and Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns great and fellow analyst for NBA on TNT Charles Barkley (Class of 2006) welcomed Reggie into the Hall of Fame.
When you hear all the statistics that this proud player put up in his career, you can understand why his selection to the Hall of Fame is no surprise.
In his 18 seasons with the Pacers, Miller scored 25,279 points, averaging 18.2 points per contest in those 18 seasons. He is second all-time in three-point field goals made with 2,560 and he was the first player who hit 2,000 three-pointers in his career. The only other player to do that is current Miami Heat guard Ray Allen. He played 1,389 career regular season games for the Pacers. Only the Hall of Fame tandem of the Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone and guard John Stockton played more games for one team in NBA history.
He was a five time all-star selection (1990, 1995-96, 1998 and 2000); three-time All-NBA Third-Team selection (1995-96 and 1998) was part of the 1994 FIBA World Championship team that won the gold medal and was part of Dream Team II in Atlanta, GA that also won Gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics. More than anything else though in his 18 seasons with the Pacers, Miller helped lead his team to the playoffs in 15 of those 18 seasons.
“I don’t take moments like this for granted. I am so honored to be part of this great evening with all these great players,” Miller said in his acceptance speech.
He also in his acceptance speech into the Hall of Fame paid homage to his older sister Cheryl.
“A lot of people wish they could be in a house with the greatest of anything. I just so happened to live across the hall from absolutely, positively the greatest woman’s basketball player ever,” Miller said.
“I’m proud to say I am not on this stage if it wasn’t for you Cheryl Dean. We as a Miller family are not held at a high level if it wasn’t for you. We road your shoulders all the way here. So thank you very much.”
For every story, particularly this of an amazing player on the hardwood like Reggie Miller’s has been and continues to be as an analyst for TNT, there is always a beginning to it.
Miller’s journey to the hardwood and eventually to the Hall of Fame began in Riverside, CA. Growing up his first love was baseball. He was a huge fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. When he first started playing he was a pitcher in little league.
Miller brought all of his focus to basketball entering middle school and high school when he wanted to play in the outfield and no longer be a pitcher.
“Basketball had that non-stop action. Every play, the fans and the crowd and teammates were into it,” Miller told his TNT colleague Kevin Harlan in an interview last week on Tuesday.
“Plus I was such a fan of watching because Cheryl was all world since she was in the fifth grade.”
Here was the kind of greatness that was in the Miller family. Reggie’s brother Darrell is a former Major League Baseball catcher. His other sister Tammy played volleyball at California State University, Fullerton
As he got older, he got a chance to play with his older sister and the rest of his siblings and it was from playing against them that he had to develop his game to the point where he could compete with them. It is from these games that Miller developed his famed high arcing and high release point on his shot.
Miller took those amazing skills and rose to prominence at Riverside Polytechnic High School.
When it came time to take his talents to the collegiate level, the only schools that were interested in him were Arizona State, which former TNT analyst and current coach of the Sixers Doug Collins was an assistant, Cal. State where his sister Tammy attended and Colorado State.
Reggie’s father, who is about 90 years old and a former member of the United States Navy serving 26 years, did not want his son playing out of state because he wanted to see his son play. He also did not want Reggie to attend University of Southern California (USC) because he wanted his son to make his own identity on the hardwood and not always be known as the little brother of Cheryl.
He decided to go to UCLA and went on to become the second leading scorer in the school’s history. The first being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was at the time Lew Alcindor.
What allowed Miller to rise to the success he did as a collegian, being a two-time All Pac-10, now Pac-12, First-Team selection (1986-87) was that each day some of the former greats in the history of the school like hall of famer Bill Walton, Abdul-Jabbar and fellow member of the 2012 class Wilkes would come by everyday to the campus and even practice and interact with Miller and his teammates.
“Everyday when one of these great UCLA players would come through, getting a chance to talk to them and find out how basketball has evolved from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, you soak all that up and that’s what I tried to do. I just tried to be a sponge and soak all the information I could to try to become a better basketball player.”
All great players, particularly in college have that breakthrough moment where they get the attention of the nation.
For Miller, that moment came on Feb. 28, 1987 when he scored 33 points in the second half against the defending NCAA national champion Louisville Cardinals and their star player “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison.
When Miller graduated from UCLA with his degree in history, he finished aforementioned second in all-time scoring to Abdul-Jabbar and as of three years ago, still holds the highest scoring average for Pac-12, holds the UCLA single-season records for most points scored in Pac-12 and most free throws and holds several individual game records.
When it came time for the NBA Draft in 1987, the Pacers had the No. 11 overall pick and were deciding on Miller and New Castle, IN native and Hoosier product who just led IU to the national title Steve Alford.
Walsh and the Pacers selected Miller at No. 11, which made the fan base of the Pacers unhappy.
“When we made the pick there were a lot of boos, but what I noticed pretty quickly was there were a lot of cheers so it wasn’t as boo lateen as I think its reported to be,” Walsh said to Matt Winer of NBA on TNT/NBA TV on Tuesday of last week.
In his first four seasons with the Pacers, Miller made major improvements going from a 10.0 ppg (1987-88); 16.0 ppg (1988-89); 24.6 ppg (1989-90) to 22.6 ppg (1990-91). The team however did not do as well only making he playoffs in only two of those four seasons and they were swept by Detroit Pistons 3-0, who won their second straight title that season and they lost in in five games to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.
In the off season, the Pacers traded away leading scorer and the face of their franchise forward Chuck Person along with guard Michael Williams to the Minnesota Timber wolves for forward Sam Mitchell and Jerome “Pooh” Richardson. This meant that the team was Miller’s to lead.
He would show that he could shoulder the load and all that came with it on the date of on Nov. 28, 1992 when he scored a franchise record 57 points at the then Charlotte Hornets going 16 for 29 from the field, 4 for 11 from 3-point range and 21 for 23 from the free throw line in a 134-122 win. The team finished the 1992-93 season with a 41-41 record. They lost in the first round to the New York Knocks 3-1.
After another exit in the quarterfinals Pacers felt they had to make some kind of change to get them to the next level and stop being one and done in the postseason.
They hired Mr. Fix It among head coaches in Larry Brown and the result the Pacers finished the season with a franchise record as an NBA team with 47 wins. Miller was the team in scoring at 19.9 peg.
In the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, they swept the Orlando Magic 3-0 in the first round. In the East Semifinals they defeated the Eastern Conferences No. 1 seeded Atlanta Hawks in 4-2.
In the Eastern Conference Finals they drew the Knocks and it was as epic as a series could get.
After splitting the first four games with both teams winning on their respective home courts, someone had to take control of the series in the pivotal Game 5 and after being pretty quiet for the first three quarters, Miller stepped onto center stage at Madison Square Garden and took control.
In that June 4, 1994 contest Miller scored an unbelievable 25 points in the four quarter hitting big-time shot after big-time shot, including several from the three-point line it was he described an, “out of body experience,” which is something he said he might have had just three or four times on the court in his great career.
What made it even more special was during this out of this world scoring explosion is that Miller was going back and fourth in an animated way with noted Knocks fans and film director, actor, writer and producer Spike Lee. One memorable exchange that took place is after Miller made a shot he looked at Spike Lee while he had both of his hands on his throat expressing that the Knocks are going to choke at the hands of the Pacers.
When it was all said and done, the Pacers escaped New York with a 93-86 win and a 3-2 lead. They would lose Game 6 back at Market Square Arena 98-91 and in Game 7 despite leading at one point by 15 points lost to the Knocks 94-90 and lost the series 4-3 as the Knocks advanced to the NBA Finals, only to lose to the Houston Rockets in seven games.
While he did not get a chance to achieve the ultimate goal, he had a chance to represent his country in the 1994 FIBA World Championships.
Miller teamed up with Derrick Coleman (New Jersey Nets), Joe Dumars (Detroit Pistons), Tim Hard away (Golden State Warriors-injured), Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns), Larry Johnson (then Charlotte Hornets), Shawn Kemp (then Seattle Supersonics), Dan Majerle (Suns), Alonzo Mourning (then Hornets), Shaquille O’Neal (then Orlando Magic), Mark Price (then Cleveland Cavaliers), Steve Smith (then Miami Heat-current analyst for NBA TV), Isiah Thomas (Pistons-injured) and Dominique Wilkins (then Hawks).
The team went 8-0 that summer winning by an average of 23.7 points per game en route to a gold medal and a spot in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, GA
The next year, the Pacers had a five-game improvement in the win column winning 52 and capturing the franchises first Central Division crown in the NBA.
After sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in Round 1 of the 1995 playoffs, the met the Knicks again in an epic seven-game series.
The drama in Game 1 where the Knicks led the Pacers 105-99 with 18.7 seconds remaining in the game on their end of the court. Miller caught an inbounds pass from guard Mark Jackson and made a three to cut the deficit to 105-102. He then stole an inbounds pass from Knicks forward Anthony Mason, retreated to the three-point line and hit another three to tie the score at 105.
The ensuing play Mitchell fouled Knicks guard John Starks sending him to the line for two free throws. Unfortunately the 73.7 percent foul shooter missed both and after a follow attempt by center Patrick Ewing fell short Miller got the rebound and was fouled. He went to the line and made both free throws that eventually gave the Pacers a 107 -105 win and a 1-0 series lead. They would go on to defeat the Knicks 4-3 advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. They would lose in seven games to the Magic who went on to the Finals but got swept by the Rockets 4-0.
The next year, the Pacers won 52 games again, but lost in Round 1 of the playoffs in five games to the Hawks.
That summer Miller got the opportunity of a lifetime to play with Dream Team II in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA.
Playing along with Miller were five players from the original Dream Team from the 1992 Olympic Gold Medal team of Barkley, Malone, Stockton, David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs and Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls). The other teammates Anfernee “Penny” Hard away (Magic), O’Neal (Magic) Hakeem Olajuwon (Rockets), Gary Payton (then Supersonics) Grant Hill (then Pistons) and Mitch Richmond (Sacramento Kings). The coach was Lenny Wilkens, who at the time was coaching the Hawks.
Dream Team II rolled to victory going 8-0 in the Olympics and in capturing the gold medal won by an average of 31.8 ppg. In their 133-70 victory over China in the fourth game of the eight-game run to the gold, Miller who hit then an Olympic record 5 for 8 from three-point land in scoring 17 points. The 133 points were a then a U.S. Olympic record. The 34,417 in attendance to witness this feet was an Olympic record for an audience.
“After seeing in Barcelona and the original Dream Team, I knew in 1996 I had to be a part of that. Especially being in Atlanta,” Miller said to Harlan.
“That’s the highlight of my career because your playing with the same guys your trying to trip, hold, elbow to win a championship. Now there on your side. Now let’s go take on the world.”
Looking back after seeing what the 2012 edition did in making a lasting memory of their own, it allowed Miller to look back to 1996 and have a great appreciation for what happened in Atlanta back then, particularly when they played the national anthem after the United States captured gold.
“People don’t understand. You hear it before every ball game and all that and you take it for granted, but when you are representing your country and especially in a team setting and you guys all step up at the same time and its only your anthem there’s no better feeling,” Miller, who wore his gold medal during the 2012 team’s gold medal game versus Spain, said to Harlan.
The next season, they won just 39 games and missed the playoffs and in the off season relieved Brown of his head coaching position.
In his place they hired a home legend from French Lick, Larry Bird to lead them to the promise land.
In his first season on the bench, the Pacers won a franchise record 58 games. They would defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers and Knicks en route to returning to the Conference Finals where they would face the back-to-back defending champion Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.
After losing the first two games in Chicago, Indiana won Game 3 back at Market Square Arena 107-105 to cut the series lead 2-1. In Game 4 on May 25, 1998 the Pacers trailed 94-93 and staring at a 3-1 deficit Miller went from the middle of the court right under the rim came around the top going to the right. He pushed Jordan away from him caught the inbounds pass from forward Derrick McKey turned and made a three-pointer that gave the Pacers a 96-94 lead. Jordan banker attempt at the buzzer did not connect and the Pacers won 96-94 and tied the series 2-2.
The Pacers in Game 5 were a no show as they were blown out in in Chicago 106-87 and trailing 3-2. In Game 6, the Pacers did show up back in Indiana making all the big plays down the stretch and winning 92-89 to force a decisive Game 7.
In that Game 7, the Pacers battled and lead for much of the game. Chicago however came back and in the fourth quarter took control of the game and eventually finished off the Pacers in Game 7 88-83 to win the series 4-3 and denying Miller his chance at a title. The Bulls went on to win their third straight title defeating the West champion Utah Jazz for a second straight season in six games.
Coming into the next season, the Bulls were not the same. Jordan retired and the Bulls were dismantled. The Pacers saw an opportunity to win it all, especially in a shortened season because of the lock out. They went on to achieve a 33-17 record, winning the Central Division and the No. 2 seed in the East.
They swept the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1 3-0 and Sixers in the Conference Semis 4-0, but lost to the No. 8 seeded Knicks in the Conference Finals 4-2 to be denied another chance at the title.
In that Game 6 loss Miller had one of those night you would like to forget as he went just 3 for 18 from the field, including 1 for 7 from three-point land scoring just eight points.
In 2000 the Pacers again had a strong season winning 56 games, capturing their second straight Central Division crown and got the No. 1 seed in the East.
They had a devil of time in the first round versus the No. 8 seeded Bucks who took the Pacers to the brink. Indiana did squeak out a victory in the decisive Game 5 96-95 to win the series 3-2.
They went on to the East Semis and defeated the Sixers in six games. They set the tone in Game 1 when Miller and his teammates Jalen Rose became the first set of teammates to each score 40 points in a playoff game as they each scored 40 on the nose. Miller hit seven threes that game and Rose went 16 for 24 from the floor.
“Sometimes when a player gets going, it’s something special when a teammate gets going also,” Rose, who is now a basketball analyst for ESPN, told Winer on Tuesday of last week.
For the fifth time in the last seven seasons, the Pacers advanced to the Conference Finals to face the rival Knicks again. After they split the first two games of the series, the Pacers as they did back in 1994 they won Game 5 back 88-79 to take a 3-2 lead.
Unlike years past, the Pacers finally broke through the wall and Miller lead the way scoring 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers won Game 6 93-80 to win the series 4-2 and represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals for the first time in team history.
The Pacers unfortunately would not capture that elusive NBA crown as they lost to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the Finals 4-2 to capture their first of back-to-back-to-back crowns. Miller in the Finals averaged 24.3 points per contest.
At the end of the season, Bird retired from coaching, longtime center Rik Smits retired and in the years that followed Miller’s role as the team’s top scorer shifted as well as his leadership to the likes of Jermaine O’Neal who came to the team the next season and in the season’s that followed players like Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley Fred Jones, Jeff Foster who came on board with the Pacers in the years that followed 1999-00. Miller was still a major cog in the Pacers offense in those seasons averaging 18.9 ppg, 16.5 ppg and 12.6 ppg in those three seasons that followed
In the first three years under new head coach Isiah Thomas, the Pacers made the playoffs but had early exits losing to the Sixers, the then New Jersey Nets and Celtics.
The team went in a new direction when they hired former Detroit Pistons’ head coach Rick Carlisle to be their new man on the sidelines with the Pacers.
They won a franchise record 61 games capturing the Central Division crown again as well as the No. seed in the East. Miller that season averaged 10.0 ppg.
They swept the Celtics in Round 1 4-0 and defeated the Miami Heat in six games. The team’s return to the Finals would be derailed by the eventual champion Pistons in the Conference Finals in six games.
Indiana hoped that the next season they would finish what they could not in 2004-05, but that all changed in the seventh game of the season.
It was the scene of one of the ugliest moments for not just the history of the Pistons and Pacers but in the history of the NBA. It was on this night in 2004 at the Palace of Auburn Hills where late in the fourth quarter flares tempered with the likes of Pistons center Ben Wallace and Artest of the Pacers where it escalated to the point that a fan threw something onto Ron Artest and he and Stephen Jackson went into the stands.
The result, Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, O’Neal and Jackson received lengthy suspension from the NBA, Miller had to take the reigns of the offense again and for a period of the seasons averaged nearly 20 points per contest.
“In hindsight, I would have gone to coach Rick Carlisle and told him to pull the starters. Something was in the air,” Miller, who did not play in that game because of a hand injury, said to Harlan.
The team did end up winning 44 games that season and defeated the Celtics again in Round 1 of the playoffs 4-3, but lost to the Pistons in the Semis 4-2.
In that 88-79 loss in Game 6 on May 18, 2005 Miller had 27 points going 11 for 16 from the field, including going hit 4 for 8 from three-point land at age 39.
“As the time is ticking off the clock and you know that your not going to force that Game (7) back to Detroit, that’s when you start to replay everything in your head when it comes to basketball,” Miller said to Harlan.
“To getting your shot blocked by Cheryl. To getting up early and running “The Hill in Riverside, CA with your dad, to playing your first high school game to signing your letter of intent to UCLA. You start to replay all of that because this is it. At a competitive level this is it.”
What made this moment even more gratifying is that the end came against the team whose coach was the reason the Pacers came to prominence in the 1990s Larry Brown, who called a time out as Miller exited to give him the kind of respect that he earned in his 18-year career with just one team. That moment at ESPN’s annual ESPY Awards won the 2005 ESPY for Best Moment of the year.
“He was amazing. Even when he retired, I think he could of played another five years,” Brown said.
“People use to say he was thin and weak, not tough. He was strong, tough and competitive.”
It is that toughness and strength both internally and externally that allowed Miller on Mar. 18, 2001 vs. Sacramento Kings to surpassed the 21,000-point mark and make his 2,000th three-point field goal made.
It also allowed him on Mar. 30, 2006 he had his jersey raised to the rafters of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
It is that same strength and toughness that gains the respect of your teammates and opponents.
A true sign of that respect came on Jan. 4, 2005 versus the Bucks, O’Neal a career-high 55 points. With 1:43 left in the game, O’Neal agreed to be taken out of the game to preserve Miller’s scoring record of 57 points that has stood for nearly two decades.
Over the course of the last week some fellow Hall of Famers, teammates, opponents took the time to share what they felt about Miller’s and his great accomplishment being elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hall of Famer and former Pacers teammate from 1997-2000 Chris Mullin called Miller, “one of the greatest shooters of all-time. When we were in a close game and the ball was in his hands, the Pacers were in good shape”
“Reggie Miller. I love him and I’m very happy that he’s being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He deserves it. Great competitor and he killed the Knicks. Bottom line he killed us,” Spike Lee said.
Fellow Hall of Famer and teammate at the 1994 FIBA World Championships Hawks great Dominique Wilkins said Miller is a “hall of famer. It’s simple as that. I thought he’d would be on the ballot last year. Should have been. Never the less he’s a hall of famer now and its well deserved and I’m really happy for him.
“A little kid from Detroit getting a chance to play with a great hall of famer. Congratulations Reggie. I love you like a brother. You really deserve it.”
“Playing against and coaching Reggie and knowing his personality, Reggie his more shots in crucial times than about anyone I’ve ever seen. Being elected to the Hall of Fame is the ultimate. The icing on the cake for anyone. It’s a great honor,” Bird said.
“I still don’t like the Pacers. Still don’t like Reggie. We get along now, but every now and then when I see him, I still want to smack him,” Ewing, who Knicks went 3-3 versus the Pacers in the postseason in his career.
The ultimate complement about Miller’s induction into the Hall of Fame came from the one other guy he trusted and respected as a teammate was former teammate for five seasons and current head coach of the Golden State Warriors Mark Jackson.
They were so close that they stood up late when the team was on the road, they talked game plans and other players in the league. They laughed together and cried together after wins and losses.
“He’s the one guy that probably along with maybe Dale Davis that I know for 100 percent they have my back,” Miller said to Harlan.
Jackson said of Miller that in being around Mille that they are very similar as people. That they are competitive at everything. They cannot stand losing. That they are experts at everything that they talk about, including basketball.
“Fortunately for the both of us in developing our relationship we disagree with everything and it only added fuel to the fire, but he’s a great guy and a brother to me,” Jackson, who along with Miller helped the Pacers reach three straight Conference Finals, said to Winer.
One story that Jackson said in describing the kind of person Miller is was one Halloween, Reggie dressed up like Michael Jackson and came to his teammates home in full effect from the jacket, white glove and hair. Miller was dressed as the “King of Pop” from head to toe.
“He’s not to big to make himself look foolish or to have fun with life,” Jackson said to Matt Winer about that moment.
If there is one thing that this moment represents more than anything, besides the value of hard work, but what having an example of greatness to follow in terms of the siblings that Reggie Miller had in his family and the kind of parents like his dad who served in the Navy for 29 years and what he said to his son when he called him after finding out the news.
“I’ve been waiting for this day. For him to say, ‘I’ve been waiting for this day. I’m so happy for you son. This is great.’ It’s surreal to have a brother and sister in the Hall of Fame,” Miller said to Harlan.
It was 25 years ago that the Indiana Pacers selected the ‘6’7’’ 180lbs shooting guard out of UCLA and he found a way as he said to Harlan to “put the Pacers on the map.” He did individually becoming the 2nd best three-point shot maker in NBA history. He’s scored over 25,000 points. Played in the third most games for one team in NBA history. Winning a gold medal and it culminates in being enshrined in the Hall of Fame alongside your older sister.
“At the end of the day, ultimately people judge you on winning championships, but it’s the ride in between that’s so great,” Miller said.
“The journey of the ups and downs. The teammates along the way from Riverside Poly Bears to UCLA Bruins to 18 years with the Pacers through six to eight different head coaches along the way. You learn a lot about yourself and you grow up. At times you can be so immature when your in high school and college and a little bit in the NBA, but I always felt if I surrounded myself with positive people, which I did good things are going to happen. I didn’t win the ultimate prize which is a championship but it was so fun trying. I loved it.”
Information, quotations and statistics are courtesy of 9/4/12 7 p.m. show of Looking Back with Reggie on NBA TV hosted by Matt Winer, interview conducted by NBA on TNT play-by-play analyst Kevin Harlan; 9/7/12 7:30 p.m. 2012 Hall of Fame Ceremony on NBA TV; www.basketball-reference.com/awards/hof.html; Sporting News Official 2006-07 NBA Guide; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Miller.
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