My Own Personal Mr. Clutch

My love affair with the sport of basketball began twenty years ago. In the mid-80's, it wasn't Boston Celtics' superstar Larry Bird or the Los Angeles Lakers' one and only Magic Johnson who hooked me on the game. It wasn't Chicago Bulls' sensation Michael Jordan either.

The player that turned me into the full-fledged basketball addict that I am today was a skinny kid who played shooting guard for the UCLA Bruins.

His name-Reggie Miller.

Growing up, I was also a ridiculously skinny kid. As a young hoopster, I wanted someone to look up to. When I saw Miller play, it was love at first sight. He immediately became my favorite basketball player.

Around that same time, Indiana Pacers GM Donnie Walsh also discovered Miller. The Pacers selected Miller with the 11th pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.

At the time, neither decision was popular.

My elementary school basketball teammates didn't understand my identification with Miller. They especially didn't understand my identification with the Pacers. My teammates were all Celtics, Lakers, and Bulls fans. When they practiced in their backyards and driveways they always pretended to be Larry, Magic and Mike. I was always Reggie. I became an Indiana Pacers fan because I was a Reggie Miller fan.

Meanwhile, Pacers fans didn't understand Walsh's decision to draft Miller. They favored Indiana Hoosiers guard Steve Alford. Pacers fans made this blatantly clear when they booed the selection on draft day.

Still, both Walsh and I remained steadfastly confident in our selections. We both knew that Miller was special, both personally and professionally. We just didn't know how special. The road that Reggie Miller took to becoming a great player, and even a greater person, is truly amazing.

________________________________________________________________________________

As a young child growing up in Riverside, California, Miller was forced to wear Forrest Gump-like leg braces to correct a hip deformity that caused severely splayed feet. Due to Miller's condition, doctors feared that he might never walk correctly, let alone run. After four years, he finally shed the leg braces. He was not only walking, he was running.

Like Forrest, Reggie grew into a man who inspired many.

Now that Miller could finally run, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older siblings and become a great athlete. Miller's brother, Darryl, was a professional baseball player. His sister, Tammy, played volleyball at Cal-State Fullerton. Another sister, Cheryl, is a basketball Hall of Famer and possibly the greatest female player of all time. Emerging out from underneath of the shadows of such fine athletes was no easy task. Nonetheless, during Reggie's days as a UCLA Bruin he accomplished just that.

At UCLA, Miller became a star. During his sophomore season he helped the Bruins win the 1985 NIT Championship. As a senior, he led them to the 1987 Pac-10 Conference Championship. Miller exited college with a history degree and as the Bruins second all-time scorer, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Despite a magnificent career as a collegian, the general consensus was that Miller wasn't athletic or durable enough to excel in the NBA.

Walsh and the Pacers vehemently disagreed with this popular opinion. The franchise selected Miller and never looked back.

Miller started for the Pacers during his NBA rookie season. 1987-88, and averaged 10 points a game. By Miller's third season, 1989-1990, he had increased his points-per-game average to 24.6 and was one of the NBA's brightest young stars. He also made his first NBA All-Star Game appearance in 1990.

Even though Miller had enjoyed tremendous personal success during the early stages of his NBA career, he had yet to attract the national spotlight. That all changed in 1994. He put on a performance for the ages in the NBA Playoffs against the Knicks. It was the first of many clutch "Miller Moments"...

Miller Moments

1994 Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 Miller and the Pacers were on the road facing the heavily favored New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Miller-who seemed to be draining three-pointers all the way from New York City's Times Square-scored an unfathomable 25 fourth-quarter points, leading the Pacers to a 93-86 comeback victory. He ended up scoring 39 points. The legend of this game has been magnified due to the legendary courtside war of words exchanged by Miller and die-hard Knicks fan and filmmaker Spike Lee. Spike Lee on Miller, "When he's old and in a wheelchair, they're going to roll him out onto the (Madison Square) Garden court and he's still going to hit threes."

1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game One Miller and his Pacers were back at the Garden, facing the rival Knicks. Down 6 points with less than 17 seconds remaining, Miller scored an impossible 8 points, two threes and two free throws, in 8.9 seconds to give the Pacers a remarkable 107-105 victory. This outcome left the Knicks, Knicks fans, and courtside Lee speechless. When people recall Miller's playing days, this is the game they most often talk about.

1998 Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 Miller's Pacers were down 94-93 to the Chicago Bulls with less than three seconds remaining. Miller shook free of Michael Jordan's defense, caught an inbounds pass, and nailed a dagger three to give the Pacers the 96-94 win. Afterwards, the home crowd inside the Pacers' Market Square Arena exploded as Miller and his teammates celebrated. "You might make your first 10 shots and everything is going great, but when the game is on the line, those other 10 don't mean anything." - Reggie Miller

2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 5 Miller almost single-handedly eliminated the eventual Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Nets in the final game of this best-of-5 series. First, Miller banked in a 40-foot buzzer-beating three to tie the game and send it into overtime. Next, the vertically-challenged Miller somehow dunked on three Nets late in the first overtime to extend the game again. Due to no fault of Miller's, the Pacers eventually lost after a second overtime period.

Miller Moments (Video Link)

The abovementioned are just a few of the seemingly countless moments that made Reggie Miller synonymous with the word "clutch." However, he will not only be remembered for these moments, but also in the record books:

He made the NBA All-Star Game five times.

He won a gold medal playing for the USA's Dream Team II in the 1996 Olympics.

He averaged 18.2 points per a game during his career.

His scoring average increased to 20.6 during the playoffs.

He is the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made.

He is 12th on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Another way to evaluate Miller's career is by the success his Pacers enjoyed.

Until Miller's arrival, the Pacers only made the NBA Playoffs twice-bounced quickly both times. During Miller's career, the Pacers made the playoffs 15 of his 18 seasons, making the Eastern Conference Finals six times and the franchise's only NBA Finals appearance.

The loyalty Miller showed the Indiana Pacers is absent in professional sports today. Only ex-Utah Jazz PG John Stockton played more games while playing for one team during the span of an entire NBA career. The Pacers rewarded Miller with a Bentley and the honor of being the only NBA player whose jersey number has ever been retired by the franchise.

________________________________________________________________________________

Miller's accomplishments on the basketball court only tell half of the story. He is just as "clutch" of a person.

People haven't always been kind to Miller. In 1997, his $2.9 million dream house burned to the ground. The disaster is still suspected to be the result of a hate crime. He's also received numerous death threats from deranged fans over the years. Nonetheless, Miller has responded with nothing but generosity.

Miller donated considerable time and hundreds of thousands of dollars to victims of the 9/11 tragedy in New York. He is one of the nation's foremost philanthropists supporting burn and arson victims. These charitable efforts, along with charitable work in the Indianapolis area, won Miller the NBA's 2003-04 J. Walter Kennedy Community Service Award.

Miller holding his NBA Community Service Award.

It turns out that Reggie Miller was the perfect choice for both Walsh and me. Walsh found a franchise cornerstone for nearly two decades. I found a hero who inspires me personally on a daily basis. Reggie touched Walsh. Reggie touched the skinny kid who was looking for a hero. And Reggie touched legions of fans worldwide. He is the reason many of us have such an allegiance to the Pacers.

None of us will ever forget the story of a skinny handicapped kid who couldn't run as a child, but ultimately ran circles around the competition during a career that will surely end at the Basketball Hall of Fame. We will never forget how "clutch" Reggie was, both on and off the court. We will never forget the story of Reggie Miller, one of the greatest personal triumphs the sports world has ever known.