As he approaches 60 years of age, NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller has had exactly a quarter century to process his one and only appearance in the NBA Finals. While Miller and his Indiana Pacers teammates represented themselves and the Eastern Conference well in the 2000 NBA Finals, they came up short against the Kobe Bryant- and Shaquille O’Neal-led Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
While the achievement of reaching the Finals isn’t lost on him, Miller, who was 34 and in his 13th season with the Pacers before they finally broke through to the Finals, doesn’t take solace in being close but ultimately coming up short on basketball’s biggest stage. Time hasn’t altered Miller’s perspective in that regard.
“You don’t get a ribbon for second place,” Miller said in a one-on-one interview with CBS Sports when asked if he looks back on that series with either appreciation or disappointment. “Sure, it’s nice to get there, but at the end of the day, you’re based on championships. That’s how I feel. I can only speak for myself. It was nice to battle head to head with Shaq and Kobe, but at the end of the day, we lost in six, so it’s disappointing. It was great to be in the Finals, but, you know, no one remembers the second place winner.”
Miller can clearly sympathize with what the current Pacers are going through after they came up just short in this year’s Finals. Miller, who had a courtside view for most of Indiana’s playoff run, made it a point to be standing outside the locker room to console the players following their Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Miller gave the current team the ultimate compliment when he was asked about the legacy of his Pacers teams.
“We had some battles,” Miler said. “We went against giants. We lost to Shaq and Kobe. We lost to Michael and Scottie. You know, lost to Patrick [Ewing], but we also beat the Knicks to move on, too. What I’m proud about with our guys is there was never, ever fear with my Pacers teams. We were ready to go head to head with anyone. And we felt, if a loose ball, rebound, a…
..
