Reggie Miller

Miller was selected by the Pacers with the 11th pick in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft.[18] Fans were initially upset that the Pacers chose Miller over New Castle, Indiana native Steve Alford; fans watching the 1987 NBA draft booed Pacers President Donnie Walsh for the selection.[18] Miller wore jersey number 31 while playing for the Pacers, backing up shooting guard John Long before he became a starter. Miller gained a respectable reputation early in his career as he led the Indiana Pacers to become a perennial playoff team.

After Chuck Person was traded from the Pacers during the 1992 offseason, Miller established himself as the Pacers' primary scoring threat.[19] On November 28, 1992, he scored a career-high 57 points against the Charlotte Hornets in a 134–122 win at Charlotte Coliseum. In this game, Miller hit 16 of 29 field goals, 4 of 11 3-pointers, and 21 of 23 free throws.[20] The 57 points he scored was the second-highest total in the NBA during the 1992–93 season (only Michael Jordan's 64 against Orlando on January 16 was higher), and still stands today as the Pacers' team record.

Miller became a household name during the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, due to a phenomenal shooting performance in Game 5 on June 1, 1994, in which he scored 39 points (25 in the fourth quarter alone) in the Pacers' 93–86 victory at Madison Square Garden. Miller made several long 3-pointers during the quarter and engaged in an animated discussion of his ongoing performance with noted Knicks fan Spike Lee, who was, as always, seated courtside. The win gave the Pacers a 3–2 series lead over the heavily favored Knicks, but they lost the next two games and the series.[21]

Miller's public feud with film director Spike Lee generated controversy for several years in the NBA playoffs.

On May 7, 1995, Miller scored eight unanswered points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks, leading the Pacers to a 107–105 victory.[22] With 18.7 seconds remaining and the Pacers trailing 105–99, Miller took the inbounds pass from Mark Jackson, made a 3-pointer, stole the inbounds pass from Anthony Mason, dribbled back behind the arc and tied the game with another 3, stunning the crowd at Madison Square Garden.[22] On the ensuing possession, Knicks guard John Starks was fouled by Sam Mitchell. Starks missed both free throws, and although Patrick Ewing managed to get the offensive rebound, his shot was just a bit long and hit the back rim.[22] Miller got the rebound and was fouled with 7.5 seconds left. He made both free throws. Trailing by 2, New York had one last chance to win the game but failed to get a shot off, giving the Pacers a shocking 1–0 lead in the best-of-seven series.[22]

The Pacers outlasted the Knicks in seven games before losing to the Orlando Magic in the Conference Finals in seven games, just like the previous year.[23] Near the end of the 1996 season, Miller fell to the floor and suffered an eye injury, leaving him unable to play in the playoffs until Game 5 of the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, where he wore goggles. The Pacers lost to the Hawks and were eliminated.[24]

Around this time, Miller hosted a talk show on WTHR called The Reggie Miller Show.[25] After missing the playoffs in the 1997 season, the Pacers returned to the postseason in 1998. They defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers[26] and Knicks[27] en route to the Eastern Conference Finals where they faced Michael Jordan and the defending champion Bulls. On May 25, 1998, the Pacers trailed Chicago 2–1 in the series and were behind 94–93 in Game 4 at home in Market Square Arena with 2.9 seconds left. Miller got free from Jordan, caught the inbound pass from Derrick McKey, turned and made a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds to go. The Pacers eventually pushed the series to a decisive Game 7 in Chicago, a game in which the Pacers led in the fourth quarter before fading in the final two minutes. The Bulls won 88–83[28] and went on to win their sixth and final championship of the Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen era.

Following Jordan's retirement, Miller and the Pacers were considered one of the favorites in the East heading into the lockout-shortened 1999 season. After earning the No. 2 seed in the East, the Pacers once again met the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. That series came to a disappointing end for Indiana, as the eighth-seeded Knicks upset the Pacers in six games.[29] In the decisive sixth game, Miller had one of the worst performances of his career, scoring just 8 points on 3-of-18 shooting from the field. He also missed seven of his eight 3-point attempts.[30]

Miller (right) taking a shot during Game 5 of the 2000 NBA Finals.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 6, 2000, Miller and teammate Jalen Rose each scored 40 points—becoming the highest-scoring pair of teammates in playoff history, in the Pacers' 108–91 victory.[31] The Pacers won that series 4–2 and returned to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth time in seven years.[32] This time they finally broke through, defeating the rival Knicks 4–2.[33] Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on June 2, 2000 was sealed by Miller's 34 points, with 17 coming in the fourth quarter to help Indiana clinch the series with a 93–80 victory over the Knicks.[34]

The Pacers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first and only time in franchise history, facing the Los Angeles Lakers led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Pacers lost the series 4–2 as Miller averaged 24.3 points per game for the series.[35]

The Pacers struggled the next year, falling to the 8th seed in the East. In Game 1 of the First Round of the playoffs against the 76ers, Miller hit the game-winning three with 2.9 seconds left to secure a 79-78 victory. The eventual Eastern Conference champion 76ers took the next three games to give the Pacers a quick exit.[36]

In 2002, Miller almost single-handedly eliminated the top seed and eventual Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Nets in the fifth and final game of the first round of the playoffs. First, following two missed free throws from New Jersey's Richard Jefferson, Miller sent the game into overtime by banking in a 40-foot (12 m) three-pointer at the buzzer. Next, with the Pacers down by two points in the final seconds of the first overtime, Miller drove into the lane and dunked over three Nets defenders to send the game into a second overtime. While the Pacers eventually lost to the Nets 120–109, the game added another chapter to Miller's legacy as a clutch performer.[37]

In the twilight of his career, Miller deferred his leadership role to All-Star teammate Jermaine O'Neal. Miller was an important locker-room leader for his team and served as an inspiration to his teammates who wanted to "win one [a championship] for 'Uncle Reg'". While Miller was no longer the team's leading scorer, he remained a go-to player in crunch time to the end of his career. O'Neal's respect for Miller was most evident on January 4, 2005, when after scoring 55 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, O'Neal agreed to be taken out of the game with 1:43 remaining to preserve Miller's record of 57 points.[38]

Miller, before waving the green flag at the 2005 Indianapolis 500, days after his final game with the Pacers

In 2005, following the lengthy suspensions of star teammates O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, and Ron Artest for a brawl with fans in Detroit, Miller averaged nearly 20 points per game for stretches of the season. He scored 39 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 18 at the age of 39.[39] In January, Miller angrily shot down rumors that he would retire at the end of the season, saying that if he did decide to retire, he would announce it through his sister Cheryl. On February 10, Cheryl, now a sideline reporter for TNT, reported that her brother had told her the previous day that he would indeed retire.[40][41]

On April 11, in a game against the Toronto Raptors, Miller passed Jerry West to move into 12th on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[42][43]

Miller's last game was on May 19, 2005, at Conseco Fieldhouse, when the Pacers lost 88–79 to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, ending the series 4–2.[44] In the game, Miller led the Pacers with 27 points, making 11 out of 16 field goals including four of eight three-pointers.[45] When he was taken out with 15.7 seconds to play, the Indianapolis crowd gave him a final standing ovation. Then-Pistons coach (and former Pacers coach) Larry Brown called an additional timeout during which the Pistons players joined in the ovation, a moment which provided closure to Miller's career and to a season that had been overshadowed by the brawl between the two teams.[46] This won the 2005 Best Moment ESPY Award.[47]

Over his 18-year NBA career, Miller made over $105 million in salary, playing in 1,389 games for the Pacers.[48] He is one of five NBA players who spent an entire career of 18 or more seasons with a single franchise. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. Miller is one of only nine players to join the 50–40–90 club and has made 2,560 3-pointers in his career, which was an NBA record at the time of his retirement. His record was later broken by Ray Allen, who was later surpassed by Stephen Curry.[48]