Reggie Miller
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Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965 in Riverside, California) was a US professional basketball player. He was born with hip problems, and doctors claimed he would not walk properly, but he recovered. His sister, Cheryl, is also a basketball player, and growing up, Reggie had to work hard to be the best basketballer in his family.
Reggie attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 11th pick in the 1st round of the 1987 NBA Draft, where he remained until his retirement in 2005. His number was 31.
Reggie was known for his precision in three-point field goal shooting, especially in clutch situations. In fact, he holds the NBA 3-point field goal record, with 2,560 career 3-pointers.
Reggie Miller became a household name during the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks due to his phenomenal shooting performances in the clutch -- particularly in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on June 1, 1994, in which he scored 39 points, 25 of which came in the fourth quarter of the Pacers' 93-86 victory at Madison Square Garden. The win gave the Pacers a 3-2 series lead over the heavily favored Knicks, but the Pacers ended up losing the next two games and the series.
On May 7, 1995, Reggie scored eight points in the last 8.9 seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks, leading the Pacers to a stunning 107-105 victory. Reggie buried a three-point shot, stole the inbounds pass, walked back behind the arc and buried another three-point shot, all in 3.1 seconds. Two free throws later, Reggie had pulled off the miraculous feat. More importantly, the Pacers finally dispatched their New York rivals by winning the series 4 games to 3, but the Pacers went on to lose the Eastern Conference Finals to the Orlando Magic by the same margin.
The Pacers made their next appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals three years later, and that meant it was time for another "Miller Moment", which took place on May 25, 1998. With the Pacers trailing the Chicago Bulls 94-93, Reggie ran through a set of screens and caught the inbounds pass from Derrick McKey, turning and firing the game-winning three-point shot over Bulls legend Michael Jordan. The Pacers' victory tied the series at 2-2, however the Pacers would again be denied the Eastern Conference championship as they fell to the Bulls 4 games to 3.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 6, 2000, Reggie and teammate Jalen Rose each scored 40 points-- becoming only the fourth pair of teammates in playoff history to accomplish that feat-- in the Pacers' 108-91 victory. The Pacers won that series 4-2 and returned to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth time in seven years. And this time they would finally crash through the gates, as they defeated the rival Knicks 4 games to 2. The deciding Game 6 on June 2, 2000 was sealed by Reggie's 34 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter.
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The Pacers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, facing the powerful Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers would wind up winning the series and the championship, but Reggie and Jalen Rose put on a shooting clinic in the Pacers' resounding Game 5 win that staved off elimination, scoring 25 and 32 points, respectively. Reggie averaged 24.3 points per game in that series.
Reggie was the Pacers' starting shooting guard as he had been since his second year in the league, although he has, in recent years, passed off the Pacers' primary leadership role to his perennial All-Star teammate, Jermaine O'Neal. Reggie was still an important locker-room leader for his team, and served as an inspiration to his teammates who want to "win one [a championship] for 'Uncle Reggie'".
As of the 2003-04 season, Reggie was the all-time NBA career leader in career three-point field goals made (3-pt FGM).
Reggie was a member of the gold medal-winning Olympic men's basketball team in 1996 and of the Team USA for the 1994 and 2002 World Championship.
Reggie was the first Indiana Pacer to start in an NBA All-Star game, first doing so in 1995. He was also selected to the team in 1990, 1996, 1998 and 2000.
Following the 2005 suspensions of star players Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, and Ron Artest, Reggie stepped up his leadership role, averaging nearly 20 points per game.
On April 11, 2005 in a game versus the Toronto Raptors Miller passed Jerry West to move into 12th on the NBA's all time scoring list.
In January 2005, 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 Miller. 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.
Reggie's last game was on May 19, 2005, when his team lost 88-79 to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, ending the series 4 games to 2. He went out with a bang that night, however, leading the Pacers with 27 points. He made 11 out of 16 field goals, including 4 of 8 3-pointers. When he was taken out of that final game with 15.7 seconds to play, the crowd gave him a standing ovation, prompting Pistons' coach (and former Indiana coach) Larry Brown to call a time-out, during which the entire Pistons team joined in the applause, taking time to congratulate Reggie on his outstanding NBA career.
Reggie Miller played more games with the same team than all but two players in NBA history, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz. Over the course of his career, Miller scored 25,279 points, with an average of 18.2 points per game. He shot .471 from the field, .395 from 3-point range and .888 from the free throw line.
Reggie Miller served as the 2005 Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade Grand Marshal. The Archbishop of the diocese of Indianapolis opened the day with the prayer "Keep these drivers safe and God Bless Reggie!" before Reggie waved the green flag to start the race.
| 1996 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball |
| Charles Barkley | Anfernee Hardaway | Grant Hill | Karl Malone | Reggie Miller | Hakeem Olajuwon | Shaquille O'Neal | Gary Payton | Scottie Pippen | Mitch Richmond | David Robinson | John Stockton |
| Coach Lenny Wilkens |