Reggie Miller

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Miller played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, earning third-team All-American honors as a junior in 1986. He was selected by Indiana in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft with the 11th overall pick. When he retired from playing, Miller held the NBA record for most career 3-point field goals made. His 2,560 three-pointers currently rank seventh on the all-time list, behind Stephen Curry, James Harden, Ray Allen, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, and LeBron James. Miller led the league in free throw percentage four times and won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics. His jersey number 31 was retired by the Pacers in 2006. Miller is widely regarded as the Pacers' greatest player of all time. After his playing career, he became an NBA commentator for TNT and college basketball analyst for CBS Sports.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Madison Square Garden was thick with tension as the clock ticked down to single digits. The Knicks held a slim lead, their fans baying for blood. Reggie Miller, having already exchanged pleasantries with Spike Lee at courtside, took the inbound pass. With a calm that belied the chaos around him, he pump-faked, sidestepped a defender, and let fly from deep. The net barely moved. The Garden fell silent. Miller turned, blew a kiss toward the jeering crowd, and history was made in the span of seconds.

Reader's Guide

Miller was born in Riverside, California, and attended Riverside Polytechnic High School. He was born with hip deformities, which prevented him from walking correctly. After a few years of continuously wearing braces on both legs, his leg strength grew enough to compensate. One of five siblings, he comes from an athletic family. His brother Darrell is a former Major League Baseball player; his sister Tammy played volleyball at Cal State Fullerton; and his older sister Cheryl is also a Hall of Fame basketball player. Cheryl was a member of the 1984 U.S. gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team and is an analyst for Turner Sports. One of the family anecdotes Reggie likes to recall was when Cheryl used to beat him in games of 1-on-1 prior to his professional career. According to Reggie, they quit playing when he could finally block Cheryl's shots. Miller says his unorthodox shooting style was developed to arc his shot over his sister's constant shot blocking. His brother, Saul Jr., became a musician and followed in his father's footsteps in military service.

Did You Know?

• Miller scored a career-high 57 points against the Charlotte Hornets on November 28, 1992.
• He scored eight points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks.
• Miller still holds the UCLA single-season records for most league points, highest league scoring average, and most free throws as of 2009.
• His jersey number 31 was retired by the Pacers in 2006.