Look away Knicks fans! This one is all about the man who made the 90’s and early 2000’s a living hell for you! Mr. Reggie Miller. Now, having grown up in New York during the time Reggie was absolutely dominating the Knicks, you would think it was in my DNA that I hate every single thing about the man. Well, I am here to tell you that is the furthest thing from the truth. Reggie Miller is easily one of my favorite players I have ever seen play. He was a straight killer and savage on the court. He is easily one of the best 3 point shooters in NBA history, having retired as the NBA’s all time leader in 3 pointers made (since broken by Ray Allen and soon to be overtaken by some guy named Curry).The best part about him was that he was going to let you know about it, even if your name happened to be Michael Jeffrey Jordan. This week, my Legend of the Week article will be a bit of a different format than in recent weeks. Rather than detail his entire life from high school, I am going to keep this one all about his most memorable moments on the court and celebrate the icon that is Reggie Miller. These moments will not be ranked in any particular order but rather just listed to be appreciated especially by the younger generations who may not know just exactly what they missed during what can only be described as the peak of the Indiana Pacers franchise to this point. So without any more delay, let’s get into the 4 most iconic moments in the career of the legendary Reggie Miller.
The first moment is probably less known to the casual fan, but the die hards will remember this series vividly. It pitted Reggie’s Pacers up against the aforementioned record breaker, Ray Allen and the Milwaukee Bucks. The first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs would have these teams head to a deciding Game 5 and as is a common theme in the career of Reggie Miller, he would step up and take over when it mattered most. Reggie would leave no doubt that the Pacers were on their way to an incredible run after this decisive Game 5. The game would be a back and forth battle all the way through but, in the 4th quarter, Reggie did what Reggie does. He would go off for 18 points in the 4th, bringing his game total to 41 points on 60% shooting and leading the Pacers to a 1 point series clinching win. Believe it or not, that wasn’t even Reggie’s best game of the 2000 playoffs, but we will get to that later.
Next up, enter one of the moments that embodies the career of Reggie Miller. He always had a significant flair for the dramatic and ALWAYS knew how to get under an opponent’s skin in order to gain an edge. Yes, even if that opponent was not even on the team and his name was Spike Lee. Let us set the stage here. It was Game 3 of the 1994 NBA playoffs. Series tied 1-1. The Pacers were trailing by 12 entering the 4th quarter and it looked like the Knicks were going to take control of the series. Reggie Miller decided that was not going to be the case. Reggie would absolutely go bonkers and score 25 points in the final frame all while starting a sideline feud with the acclaimed director who sits courtside at nearly every Knicks home game, well up until recently when James Dolan threw another one of his power hungry hissy fits and threw Spike out. After every clutch shot and every big play made, it seemed Reggie would point, taunt or just stare down Lee as he was single handedly destroying the New York Knicks, all leading up to the game clinching shot when Reggie stared over and gave the now infamous choke sign to Spike. This game had everything that built Reggie into who he was. Clutch shooting, beating the Knicks and shutting up one of his biggest haters. This is actually the moment I knew Reggie was one of my favorites. I cannot help but admire a player going to hostile enemy territory and absolutely shining while breaking hearts and sucking the air out of an arena, especially MSG in the 90’s.
The 3rd moment I wish to speak of is one that is oh so fresh in everyone’s mind from the finale of “The Last Dance” this past Sunday evening. That’s right, the infamous game winner over Jordan. I love this moment despite MJ being my favorite player of all time. It just epitomized the grit and guts and heart that shined off of Reggie every time he stepped on the floor. This shot is so important and so iconic for a variety of reasons. The Pacers found themselves down 2-1 in the series and if Reggie misses this shot, there is just no way they force a Game 6 going back to Chicago against the best franchise of the 90’s. We are so used to MJ doing this to other teams time in and time out, that when someone does it to him, it is remembered almost as vividly. Now, Reggie pushed off or as he likes to call it, “ a slight bump”, but it was the playoffs and back then refs didn’t call the ticky tack fouls they call now. Reggie hits the shot and runs down the court, arms raised, jumping around like a little kid. I loved it. It mortalized Jordan, and almost simultaneously immortalized Miller. Truly one of his greatest moments for sure.
Now this next one everyone has probably been waiting for. His most iconic moment by far, 8 points in 9 seconds. Think about that for one minute, how does that happen?! Let’s break it down. Game 1 of the 1995 playoff series again against those pesky New York Knicks. Reggie hits his first 3 with 16.4 seconds to go in the game. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Miller makes the steal steps behind the line and knocks down yet another 3, and again I love this, staring down Spike Lee like he loved to do. On the other end, John Starks was fouled to stop the clock and as fate would have it, misses both free throws. Patrick Ewing grabs the board but misses the next shot and Reggie powers his way through for the board. For some reason unbeknownst to most, Reggie is fouled and sinks both free throws to ice the game for Indiana. Watching the video below, you will see that so much had to go wrong for the Knicks to blow it, but also Reggie had to play flawless for those 9 seconds, and he absolutely did, again crushing the spirits of Knicks fans everywhere. Me? I was sitting there enjoying every minute of it watching my father nearly have a heart attack at the unfolding events. I love my dad but the way we battle over sports, it brings joy to watch his teams lose. It’s the little things, ya know?
There are so many other moments I could have covered. These are the 4 that stand out most to me! These are the ones that solidified my adoration for his game. I can see why a lot of fans disliked Reggie Miller. He was cocky, had swagger, and usually made a living off of destroying the hopes of your favorite team. However, you have to look at the overall body of work and what it took to have the career he did in order to make a legitimate case as to why you hate him. He was always told he would not make it. He was too skinny. He was too arrogant. He was uncoachable. He quickly changed that narrative when he attended UCLA and carried that throughout his career. He silenced the haters. He never backed down. It seemed like he lived at the 3 point line, but what most fans do not realize is that the mid-range game was his bread and butter! If you didn’t want to see Reggie take over late in a game, then you better stop him at the mid range level or you were in for a long evening. Reggie Miller is an integral part of NBA history. Despite your feelings toward him, he is one of the absolute greats of the game and there is no one that can take that away from him now! Thank you Reggie, it was an honor to watch you play.
To The Rack With Mac 