Next highest on the list? Roger Brown with 63.5. Miller was the force leading his team to success, as evidenced by his 174.4 win shares in his time as a Pacer. These guys were incredible, but by no means Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen. Good players were placed around Miller, Mark Jackson and Rik Smits among them. Miller was well before his time, helping to usher in an era that rattles off 3-pointers at a rate not yet seen before. Though Miller sits second in true shooting percentage to Doug McDermott, that’s in large part due to McDermott’s ancillary role on the team. He nearly doubles up Rik Smits in career points, who is second on the franchise’s running list. He leads the franchise in 3-point field goals, and held the league record for years until Ray Allen broke it. Miller’s offensive game was the best that Indy had ever seen. No single talent could pull the Pacers out of the pit they had been in for over a decade. The rich teams got richer, and the poor teams got poorer. The loop was - lose games fans don’t show up, no money made sell any sort of salvageable talent to competing teams to avoid relocation repeat the process. That practice of star selling continued once they joined the NBA and all throughout the 80s and early 90s, the Pacers were a losing team because of it. Heck, they even had a telethon to keep the team in Indiana. The Pacers, prior to becoming an NBA team, were doing so poorly financially that they had to sell off many of their star players in the years before joining the NBA. In the 11 years prior, the Pacers missed the playoffs in all but one season and were stuck in a terrible feedback loop of destitution. The Pacers made the playoffs 16 times over the course of Miller’s career. Remember, we’re talking greatest players of all-time here, and winning titles - something Miller and the Pacers didn’t do, despite coming close - is important to an overall legacy.Ĭonsider this, though. Just being on this list is a high honor, and while Pacers fans may clamor for a higher ranking for Miller, the 40s is probably a fair range. Dominique Wilkins came in at 46, Anthony Davis at 45. Miller ranked one slot lower than Bill Walton at 48, and one better than Wes Unseld at 50. Miller led the league in true shooting percentage twice and saved his biggest games for the playoffs, particularly at Madison Square Garden against the rival Knicks with Spike Lee courtside, engaging Miller in trash talk. - Kevin Pelton The focus on Miller’s longevity - he was still a key starter for a competitive Pacers team before retiring at age 39 - may have overshadowed his peak performance. The greatest shooter of his era, Miller became the NBA’s career leader in 3-pointers during the 1997-98 season and held the record more than a decade, even as 3-point volume increased. It’s hard to put into words how much Miller means to the franchise and the NBA, but Kevin Pelton and ESPN did so in their top-74 players of all-time ranking, in which Miller ranked 49th. Sure, the Pacers were more successful in terms of winning titles throughout their ABA years, but Miller put the Pacers on the map as a respectable NBA team for the first time in the late 90s and early 2000s. In fact, you really have to start with him. When it comes to the Indiana Pacers, you can’t talk about all-time, franchise history without bringing up Reggie Miller. By Josh Wilson 3 years ago The greatest Indiana Pacers player of all-time, Reggie Miller, was named within the top-50 of ESPN’s recent all-time ranking of players
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