Andre Miller
Teams
Cleveland Cavaliers - 1999-02
LA Clippers - 2002-03
Denver Nuggets - 2003-06, 2011-13
Philadelphia 76ers - 2006-09
Portland Trail Blazers - 2009-11
Washington Wizards - 2014-15
Sacramento Kings - 2015
Minnesota Timberwolves - 2015-16
San Antonio Spurs - 2016
Playoffs
Appearances - 11 (2004,2005,2006,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2016)
Conference Finals - 0
NBA Finals - 0
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-NBA Second Team - 0 (2002)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Assists - #11
Assists Per Game - #41
Total Steals - #42
League Leads
Total Assists (#1-2002, #3-2006, #4-2007, #5-2001)
Assists Per Game (#1-2002)
Andre Miller was a very good point guard in the NBA for many years, but but he was constantly overlooked throughout his 17 seasons, failing to ever be named to a single All-Star team, and he is the only player ever with at least 16000 points, 8000 assists, and 1500 steals to never be named an All-Star.
Miller played for the University of Utah, where he led the Utes to the national championship game as a junior, upsetting defending champ Arizona along the way, then was named an All-American as a senior, which led to him being drafted #8 overall by Cleveland in 1999.
Miller improved constantly during his 3 years in Cleveland, with his best overall season coming in 2002, when he led the league in assists while averaging 16.5 points per game. After that season, he was traded to the Clippers, which started the merry-go-round of the rest of his career, in which he played for 9 different teams (and Denver twice) and was traded 5 times, three of those coming in midseason.
Despite the constantly changing scenery, Miller was a very steady player. He averaged between 13 and 17 points per game every year from 2000 to 2010, and averaged at least 5 assists per game for the first 14 years of his career. He was also a player who rarely missed time, with only 3 games missed due to injury in his career, though he had quite a few DNP games in the last few seasons of his career when he was available.
One knock on him is that he never even reached the Conference Finals in his career, despite 11 playoff appearances overall, making him one of only 4 players on this list in that club, and none of the others are ranked higher than 70. After his first 4 seasons, he only missed the playoffs twice, so he was always able to make his team good, but wasn't enough of a star to lead them to a deep playoff run himself.
Looking at how well he played for all those years despite the constant changing surroundings makes me wonder how great he could have been if he had been allowed some stability. Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to that, but he still deserves recognition as one of the best players in the history of the game.
Alright I thought your Sam Cassell choice was bad but this is significantly worse, Andre Miller? The only player named Andre who belongs in the top 100 basketball players is Andrei Kirilenko, who did not even make your list. Kirilenko is the Dikembe Mutombo of Forwards, the greatest Defensive Forward of all-time. Meanwhile Andre Miller is just some guy. There may have been a year or two when Andre Miller was a top 10 PG in the league, but All-NBA Second Team is absolutely one of the most delusional sports opinions I can remember hearing, and that's saying something. Other players from the same era that didn't make your list that are much better player than Andre Miller include, but certainly aren't limited to, Jermaine O'Neal, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, Raef Lafrentz, Ron Artest, Bonzi Wells, Peja Stojakavic, Tyson Chandler, Arvydas Sabonis, Antoine Walker, Antawn Jamison, Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Darius Miles, Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette, Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Richard Hamilton, Michael Finley, Antonio Davis, Dale Davis, Vlade Divac, Baron Davis, Steve Francis, and many more. You certainly don't seem to care much for defense at all.
ReplyDelete