Reggie Miller
Teams
Indiana Pacers - 1987-05
Playoffs
Appearances - 15 (1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005)
Conference Finals - 6 (1994,1995,1998,1999,2000,2004)
NBA Finals - 1 (2000)
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-NBA Third Team - 3 (1995,1996,1998)
Hall of Fame - 2012
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Three-Pointers Made - #3
Free Throw Percentage - #12
Total Points - #24
Total Steals - #49
Three-Point Percentage - #63
League Leads
Three-Pointers Made (#1-1993,1997, #2-1998, #3-1990,1999, #4-2000,2001,2002, #5-1991,1992,1995)
Free Throw Percentage (#1-1991,1999,2001,2002,2005, #2-1994,2000, #4-1995, #5-2003,2004)
Three Point Percentage (#3-1994)
After finishing a 4-year career at UCLA as the school's all-time second-leading scorer (behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Reggie Miller was drafted at #11 by the Indiana Pacers, where he would spend the next 18 years.
Miller came off the bench as a rookie and put up 10 points per game on the season before moving into the starting lineup early in his second season, where he would remain for the rest of his career. In his third season, he set a career-high with 24.6 points per game, and led the Pacers to the playoffs, which would be the first of 15 playoff appearances in 16 seasons for Reggie.
He averaged over 20 points per game for each of the next 3 years, and led the league in free throw percentage in 1991, but the Pacers fell in the first round of the playoffs each season. He had a big season in 1993-94, when he joined the 50-40-90 club, shooting .503 from the field, .421 from deep, and .908 from the free throw line.
He became a big name during that season's playoff run, when he led the Pacers to the Conference Finals, and it was highlighted by his performance in Game 5 in New York, when he scored 25 of his 39 points in the 4th quarter to help Indiana take a 3-2 lead in the series, but they would end up losing the next two games and the series.
His reputation grew again the next year when he scored 8 points in 9 seconds against the Knicks in Game 1 of the second round, helping the Pacers go from down 6 to a 2-point victory with his 2 three-pointers, a steal, a rebound, and 2 free throws to steal the game. They won the series in 7 games, then took the Orlando Magic to 7 games before falling just short of the Finals again.
Miller suffered an eye injury just before the 1996 playoffs, which led to his team losing in the first round, and they missed the playoffs in 1997, but in 1998 they bounced back strong, going all the way to the Conference Finals again. Miller hit a game-winning three over Michael Jordan to win Game 4 to tie the series, but they fell in 7 games for the third time in 5 years.
Miller and the Pacers reached yet another Conference Final in 1999, but fell to New York again in a huge upset, but they were finally able to break through in 2000, when Miller scored 17 of his 34 points in the 4th quarter of the decisive Game 6 to beat New York and advance to the NBA Finals. Miller averaged 24.3 points in the Finals, but Indiana lost to the Lakers in 6 games.
Miller's role began to decrease slightly over the next few years, but Miller was still one of the top shooters in the league. He led the league in free throw shooting 4 times in the latter half of his career, including his final season, when he shot a career-high .933 from the line. Even with all of his playoff heroics, he was never able to win that elusive championship before retiring in 2005.
When Miller retired, he was the all-time leader in three-pointers made, though he has since been passed by Ray Allen and Stephen Curry. He averaged at least 18 points per game in 12 straight seasons, and was among the top 5 in the league in free throw shooting 10 times and threes made 11 times. Even though he never won a title, he was always great in the playoffs, and is definitely one of the greatest players of all time.
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