Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Reggie Miller’s Last NBA Game Included One Of The Best Send Offs In History

Reggie Miller undoubtedly is the greatest player in Indiana Pacers franchise history and had his No. 31 jersey retired by the team in 2006. Miller was a five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA Team select and one of the few members of the 50-40-90 club. Miller also won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of Team USA.

When he retired, he held the record for most career 3-point field goals made, but was passed by Ray Allen a couple of years later.

Miller’s last NBA game was one of the greatest last games in the NBA, but it came too early. May 19, 2005, at Conseco Fieldhouse, when the Pacers lost 88–79 to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, ending the series 4–2.

A series the Pacers may not have lost without the suspensions of Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal (O’Neal and Jackson were back in time for the playoffs), following the Malice at the Palace “the most infamous brawl in NBA history” earlier that season.

In Miller’s final game, he once again led the Pacers with 27 points, making 11 out of 16 field goals including four of eight three-pointers. But the real story began when he was taken out of the game with 15.7 seconds left in the 4th. The crowd gave him an amazing standing ovation, that still makes me emotional, many in the audience had teary eyes. Pistons coach, Larry Brown, who also was a Pacers coach during Reggie’s career, called an additional timeout, to extent Reggie’s farewell. All the players, Pacers and Pistons joined in the ovation. Two teams that had the worst brawl in NBA history only 6 months earlier, were standing in unison, appreciating one of the greatest shooters in the sport’s history. This moment rightfully won the 2005 Best Moment ESPY Award. Goosebumps!