Reggie Miller can be seen nowadays as an analyst/announcer on TV. However, some of today’s generation don’t realize that he was one of the hidden gems of 1990s basketball. The man who tormented Spike Lee had plenty of Hall of Fame-worthy moments throughout his career. He is widely considered one of the best trash-talkers of all time and one of the few players who could duel with the likes of the greatest himself, Michael Jordan.
Miller was a three-point shooting legend who helped pave the way for other legendary marksmen such as Ray Allen and Stephen Curry. Not to mention, Miller logged a double-digit scoring average every season he was in the NBA. With this in mind, it is time for the Indiana Pacers to get some attention as we look at which season was overlooked in the three-point maestro’s career. Was it Reggie’s first All-Star season? Was it the year the Pacers made it to the Conference Finals? Without further adieu, let us find out.
Reggie Miller: His Most Overlooked Campaign
Reggie Miller: His 1990-91 Season
The long-range assassin was coming off his first All-Star year in the 1990-91 season. Though he made the All-Star Game the year prior, he did not quite make it in this particular season. That still does not take away from the fact Miller had a solid year. What about his team though? During the 1990-91 campaign, the Pacers would finish with a win-loss record of 41-41. Exactly a .500 team.
However, the Pacers would still squeak into the postseason where they would succumb to the Boston Celtics three games to two in the series. The Pacers finished 16th in the league for net rating that season (-0.4). Unfortunately for Indiana, they were simply over-matched by the Celtics. A Celtics squad that still had their big three in Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale. This still does not detract from the fact that Reggie Miller had a great under-the-radar year this particular season. Just take a look at some of the numbers he put up for Indiana.
Uncle Reg: His Numbers in the 1990-91 Campaign
Reggie averaged his career-high in assists during this season at 4.0 per game. Not to mention, he also shot a league-best 91.8 percent from the free-throw line. He also tallied 22.6 points per game to couple with a three-point shooting percentage of 34.8 percent. Miller’s effective field goal percentage on the year would end up being 56.0 percent. As if these stats were not solid enough, take a look at some of his advanced analytics.
During the 1990-91 season, Miller logged an offensive rating of 130, a total that would end up being another career-high. It is also the season where he logged his only triple-double of his Hall of Fame career. On top of this, Reggie Miller also averaged a true shooting percentage of 65.0 percent which led the league in this category. He would also come away with a win-share total of +12.5. While the end result was not what the team nor Reggie desired, one cannot take away what he did for the Pacers. All of these reasons are why the 1990-91 campaign is the most overlooked of The Knick Killer’s legendary career.
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