Ok this is interesting. Apparently if you're an NBA team looking to shore up your bench after losing 5 players and 2 draft picks just to get 1 superstar (I'm talking about the Celtics obviously) your options are not only limited to the rookies or the D-League. There is also the option of trying to get retired stars!
Today, there is news that the Boston Celtics have been trying to lure Reggie Miller out of retirement. The first questions are, of course, his current condition, so here it is: Reggie Miller, the Indiana Pacer's 6'7 5 time All-Star, played 18 seasons as guard all with the Pacers before retiring in 2005. He is 42 years old this month, (August 24, 1965).. In his last 2004-05 season, he averaged 14.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 2.2 APG for an efficiency rating of +12.59.
Amongst his many achievements is being the all-time NBA leader in 3-pt FGM ended the season with 2,464 3-pt FGM, and also going over 100 3-pt FGM for 15 consecutive seasons, a NBA record. In second round against Miami, he scored 19 points in 18 minutes in Game 2 to move past Bill Russell into 22nd place on the NBA's all-time playoff career scoring list. He averaged 24.3 points against the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals and also became the first Pacer ever to start in an NBA All-Star Game in 1995. In international play, he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olmpic Basketball Team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta plus the leading scorer on the Gold medal winning US Team in the 1994 World Championships.
Etched in my mind are the fantastic battles he had against Chicago, Miami and Charlotte, but especially New York, which is why he also has the nickname 'Knick Killer' alongside 'Miller time'. In fact no less than Knicks die hard trash talker Spike Lee said of him "When he’s old and in a wheelchair, they’re going to roll him out onto the [Madison Square] Garden court and he’s still going to hit threes.". His former coach and NBA Great Larry Bird said he was "The most dependable shooter in the history of the NBA.".
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