Content provided in partnership with
Kingly appearance: versatile big man Brad Miller fits right in with his slick-passing Sacramento teammates, but he's the reason the team might be just different enough to finally win a championship
Sporting News, The, Jan 26, 2004 by Sean Deveney
In Brad Miller's nightmare, he is back in the land of cramped condos and never-ending traffic jams. It's cold and windy. There's no space, no fresh air and certainly no place where a self-respecting, country music-loving Indiana boy can pack a chunk of Skoal into his lower lip without drawing gasps and frowns from the genteel locals. In this nightmare, his teammates are young and clueless, his uniform is red and his coach is--gasp--Tim Floyd. He's back in Chicago. Sweet mother of mercy, not Chicago!
There, there, Brad. It's only a dream.
"That was the nightmare I had the other night, that I got traded back to Chicago," Miller says. "I could not sleep at all. I was sweating. Thank goodness I woke up"
- Most Popular Articles in Sports
- The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...
- The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...
- Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...
- Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association
- The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking
- More »
When he's coherent, Miller and his lipful of shredded tobacco seem to be in a happy place, among the hills, greenery and pick-up trucks of northern California. His tumultuous days in Chicago--where the Bulls were 27-107 over a season and a half--still keep him up occasionally, but mostly, they are a distant memory. These days, Miller is employed by the NBA's best team, the Kings, who were 28-9 entering the week and held a 2 1/2-game advantage over the Timberwolves as the top team in the West. He has filled in for injured star Chris Webber at power forward, and he has been playing like a star himself. He's averaging 14.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He is shooting 51.3 percent from the field, and he's had two triple-doubles.
"We expected him to be good," says Kings coach Rick Adelman, whose club gave Miller a seven-year, $68 million deal this summer. "But not this good."
Miller is 27, and though he was an All-Star with the Pacers last year, he is playing his best basketball now, in his sixth season. That's not a big surprise to Miller, who says he hails from a long line of late bloomers back in Kendallville, Ind. His performance is a surprise around the league, however. Miller was respected for his toughness, rebounding and midrange shooting but never for the finesse and deft passing he has shown this season.
Former teammate Jermaine O'Neal of the Pacers vouches for Miller's status as one of the league's best-passing big men, but in Indiana, all Miller was asked to do was pass from the high post to O'Neal down low, so Miller's skill had gone unnoticed.
In fact, Miller has been underestimated throughout his career, a function of being "a slow, 7-foot white guy from the Midwest," he says. He spent four pretty good years at Purdue but watched the entire 1998 NBA draft without hearing his name called. Then the NBA's lockout struck and Miller shuffled off for a six-month stay in Europe, where barbeque joints and Subway sandwiches are difficult to find ("It was rough living" Miller recalls). Miller played well, though, first for Team USA in the World Championship, then for Bini Viaggi in Italy. When the lockout ended, the Hornets signed him to a two-year contract. It wasn't a traditional path to the league, but, in hindsight, that has been key to Miller's success.
"He had to grow up a little bit when he came out of Purdue," says Miller's agent, Mark Bartelstein. "He did not have the work ethic. He had to understand there are a lot of big guys in the league. But not getting drafted, going to Europe--those things opened his eyes to what he needed to get done."
What he has done so far is land himself in a perfect spot for his ability, on a team brimming with championship possibility in an offensive system that relies on its big guys. Miller was a free agent last off-season, and though the Kings contacted him early in the summer, it did not appear Sacramento would have payroll space to sign him. Miller was choosing between rebuilding projects--in Denver and Utah--in late July when Kings president Geoff Petrie engineered a three-way trade that sent away bit players Scot Pollard (to Indiana) and Hedo Turkoglu (to San Antonio) in exchange for a long-term commitment to Miller. The chance to play with the Kings was irresistible; just as irresistible was the chance for the Kings to land him.
"It's nice to be in a place that plays through the big guys," Miller says. "You get the opportunity to pass and handle the ball. This is fun. Not a lot of teams let 7-footers go out and handle the ball, but with us, it works."
The reason it works is because Sacramento is stacked with talent and uses an offensive system that best exploits that talent. Miller has played like a star at times, but he is a cog in an offense deep with star players. The Kings' top seven--including Webber--are intelligent offensive players, excellent shooters, reliable ballhandlers and, especially, terrific passers. The Kings like to set up Miller and center Vlade Divac on opposite sides of the free throw line, put shooting guard Doug Christie and small forward Peja Stojakovic in the corners and let point guard Mike Bibby initiate the offense from there. Everyone is a threat. Defense? Good luck.
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: News
Most Popular Articles in Sports
- The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...
- The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...
- Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...
- Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association
- The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking
- More »