50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
24. Reggie Miller
Indiana Pacers 1987-2005
At 6-foot-7 and listed at 185 pounds, the critics thought the Indiana Pacers made a mistake when they took UCLA guard Reggie Miller with the 11th overall pick in 1987, saying he’s never be able to stay in the league.
It took 18 years, but the critics were eventually right.
Miller defied his slight frame by shooting the lights out from outside and developing the ability to drive and draw contact.
Miller was a three-time All-NBA performer and a five-time All-Star with the Pacers, the only team he played for. He also led the NBA in 3-pointers made twice and in free-throw shooting four times.
Indiana missed the playoffs in Miller’s first two seasons and was swept out of the first round by the Detroit Pistons in 1990. In 1991, the Pacers pushed the Boston Celtics to a Game 5, but lost in the first round once again. The next year, Indiana was swept in the opening round by the Celtics, and in 1993, the Pacers were pushed out in the first round again by the New York Knicks.
In 1994, things changed. Indiana swept the Orlando Magic in the first round and dumped the Atlanta Hawks in the second to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the franchise came to the NBA in 1976. But a Game 7 loss to the Knicks ended the run.
The following season, the Pacers swept Atlanta and took a Game 7 from New York in the second round to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals. Again reaching Game 7, they fell short, losing to Orlando.
In 1996, Indiana was popped in the first round, losing a Game 5 to the Hawks.
After missing the postseason in 1997, the Pacers were back in 1998, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals. That brought another Game 7 and another loss—this one to the two-time defending champion Chicago Bulls.
Indiana appeared to be on a mission in the lockout-shortened 1999 campaign, sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals, this time as heavy favorites. But the eighth-seeded Knicks took out Indiana in six games.
The fifth time was the charm for Indiana. In 2000, the Pacers survived a first-round Game 5 against the Bucks before taking out the 76ers and Knicks to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Once there, however, the Pacers went down in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pacers couldn’t get through the first round the next three years, losing to Philadelphia in 2001, the New Jersey Nets in five games in 2002 and Boston in 2003.
Indiana was back in 2003-04 as the top seed in the East and swept the Celtics and took out the Miami Heat before running into the eventual champion Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Wracked by controversy and suspensions stemming from an ugly brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills in November, the Pacers survived a Game 7 against Boston in the first round, but suffered the bitterness of a second-round elimination at the hands of Detroit in the second round.
Miller was waived in August 2005 and called it a career, leaving the NBA as its all-time leader in 3-pointers made (he’s now second behind Ray Allen). Miller is also eighth in NBA history in games and minutes played, ninth all-time with an 88.8 percent free-throw mark and 16th with 25,279 points.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012 and in retirement has been an analyst for TNT’s NBA coverage.
The final tally on Miller’s playoff career:
NBA Finals: 0-1
Conference Finals: 1-5
Conference Semifinals: 6-1
First Round: 7-8
Next: 23. Lost Much Of Prime To Bad Ankle