 Miller during a Nuggets game in December 2016. | |
| No. 50, 33, 6, 13, 18, 3 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Head coach |
| League: | NBA NCAA |
| Personal information | |
| Full name: | Michael Lloyd Miller |
| Born: | February 19, 1980 Mitchell, South Dakota |
| Nationality: |  American
|
| Physical stats | |
| Listed height: | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight: | 218 lbs (99 kg) |
| National Basketball Association career | |
| Debut: 2001 for the Orlando Magic | |
| Final season: 2017 for the Denver Nuggets | |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Mitchell High School Mitchell, South Dakota |
| College: | Florida (1998–2000) |
| NBA Draft: | 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th |
| Selected by the Orlando Magic | |
| Position: | Shooting Guard / Small Forward |
| Playing career: | 2001–2017 (16 years) |
| Coaching career: | 2018–present (6 years) |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2000–2003 | Orlando Magic |
| 2003–2008 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2008–2009 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2009–2010 | Washington Wizards |
| 2010–2013 | Miami Heat |
| 2013–2014 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2014–2015 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2015–2017 | Denver Nuggets |
| As coach: | |
| 2018–2020 | Memphis (assistant) |
| 2020–present | Houston HS |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points: | 10,973 (10.6 PPG) |
| Rebounds: | 4,376 (4.2 RPG) |
| Assists: | 2,666 (2.6 APG) |
| Steals: | 573 (0.6 SPG) |
| Blocks: | 229 (0.2 BPG) |
| Stats at NBA.com Stats at Basketball–Reference.com | |
| Medals | |
| Men's basketball | |
| Representing the United States
| |
| FIBA Americas Championship | |
 Gold
|
2007 Las Vegas |
| Goodwill Games | |
| Gold
|
2001 Brisbane |
| FIBA Americas U18 Championship | |
| Gold
|
1998 Puerto Plata |
Michael Lloyd Miller (born February 19, 1980) is an American former college basketball coach and former professional basketball player.
He played in college for the Florida Gators, and was selected by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft. He has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Denver Nuggets. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2001, and the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2006. Miller won back-to-back NBA championships with Miami in 2012 and 2013. He was a swingman who was primarily a three-point specialist.
College career[]
Miller accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 1998 until 2000. He quickly became known for his ability to hit the three-pointer. As a sophomore, Miller led the Gators to the 2000 NCAA Championship game, losing to the Michigan State Spartans. He hit perhaps the most dramatic shot of the tournament that year in the opening round against the Butler Bulldogs. As the fifth-seeded Gators trailed the underdog Bulldogs by one, Miller drove to the basket and laid it in as time expired. After the 2000 NCAA Tournament, he declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft.
Professional career[]
Orlando Magic (2000–2003)[]
The following summer, Miller taken with the 5th overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. Miller won the 2001 NBA Rookie of the Year Award while being the only first-year player to appear in all 82 regular season games during the 2000–01 season.
Memphis Grizzlies (2003–2008)[]
He was traded to Memphis midway through 2002–03 season. He was the recipient of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 2005–06 season. He averaged 13.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 2.7 apg while shooting 47% from the field and 41% from three-point range, while playing 30.6 minutes per game.
On January 3, 2007 Miller made nine three-pointers in a win over the Golden State Warriors, breaking Sam Mack's Grizzlies franchise record of eight in a game set in February 1999. The two previous games Miller hit seven threes. This made him the first NBA player to hit at least seven three-pointers in three consecutive games since the Dallas Mavericks' George McCloud achieved it in 1996. Miller holds the Memphis Grizzlies franchise record for most points scored in a single game, with 45 on February 21, 2007, against the Golden State Warriors. After the 2006–07 season, Miller was announced as a member of the USA Basketball team.
Minnesota Timberwolves (2008–2009)[]
On June 26, 2008, Miller, Brian Cardinal, Jason Collins, and the 5th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, Kevin Love, were sent to Minnesota in exchange for Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, Greg Buckner, and the 3rd pick O.J. Mayo.
Washington Wizards (2009–2010)[]
Miller with the Wizards in 2009.
On June 23, 2009, Miller and Randy Foye were sent to the Washington Wizards for Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and a first round draft pick. Miller suffered a shoulder injury and missed a few games during the early part of the 2009–10 NBA season.
Miami Heat (2010–2013)[]
Miller playing for the Heat in 2013.
On July 15, 2010, Miller signed a five-year $25 million contract with the Miami Heat. He injured his thumb while guarding LeBron James in practice during the pre-season, sidelining him for several weeks. Miller officially returned to the Miami Heat lineup on December 20, 2010, in a home game against the Dallas Mavericks. Miller got his first start on January 22, 2011, due to a Dwyane Wade illness, and contributed with a season-high 32 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors. Miller averaged just 2.6 points a game in 12 minutes a game during the playoffs, with a high of 12 in game 4 against the Chicago Bulls.
During the 2011-2012 season, Miller made six of six three point field goals in a victory over the San Antonio Spurs to finish with 18 points in his return to the Heat, after missing several games because of an injury.
In the Playoffs, Miller averaged 5.2 points per game, and scored in double figures at least once in each of the Heat's playoff series as Miami advanced to the NBA Finals to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Game 5, Miller made seven three-pointers, setting the NBA Finals record for most three-pointers by a reserve. He had not made any three-pointers in the previous four games of the series. He finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and a steal in Game 5. Miami would go on to win the game and the NBA championship.
During the 2012-2013 season, Miller was inserted into the starting lineup 17 times and averaged 4.8 points per game for the season. The Heat would again advance to the NBA Finals, this time against the San Antonio Spurs. Miller was inserted into the last 4 games of the Finals to help space the floor, and scored 8 points in Game 6 as the Heat barely squeaked out a victory. One highlight of the game was a three-pointer that he made while wearing one shoe. The Heat won the series in Game 7 on June 20, 2013, giving Miller his second championship.
On July 16, 2013, Miller was waived by the Miami Heat via the amnesty clause.
Return to Memphis Grizzlies (2013–2014)[]
On July 30, 2013, Miller re-signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. He saw his minutes and his importance increase with the slightly revamped Grizzlies team lead by the new coach Dave Joerger. Miller played steadily for much of the season, finishing off as the only Grizzly to play all 82 regular season games and all 7 playoff games.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2014–2015)[]
On August 5, 2014, Miller signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In Cleveland, he joined former two-time champion Miami Heat teammates LeBron James (who at the same time returned to Cleveland) and James Jones. After averaging just 1.5 points in 12 minutes per game over the first 24 games of the season, Miller made his first start for the Cavaliers on December 19, 2014 against the Brooklyn Nets as he scored 21 points on 7-of-8 three-pointers in the 95-91 win. The Cavaliers made it to the 2015 NBA Finals (Miller's fourth in five years), but they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
On June 30, 2015, Miller exercised his player option with the Cavaliers for the 2015-16 season (the season that LeBron and Jones won their third championship over the Warriors).
On July 27, 2015, Miller was traded, along with Brendan Haywood and two future second-round draft picks, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for cash considerations. On September 28, 2015, he was waived by the Trail Blazers via a contract buyout.
Denver Nuggets (2015–2017)[]
On September 30, 2015, Miller signed with the Denver Nuggets. Miller was instrumental in the early development of teammate Nikola Jokić. The two players share a special friendship to go along with their mentor/mentee relationship and even share the same birthday. He re-signed with the Nuggets on July 21, 2016, missed the playoffs in both his seasons with the Nuggets for the first time since 2010 when he was with the Wizards, and was waived on July 11, 2017.
Coaching career[]
On April 12, 2018, Miller was hired as an assistant coach under Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis. He spent two seasons with the Tigers and established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation. On June 3, 2020, Miller resigned to spend time with his family. In July, Miller was named the boys basketball coach at Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee. His sons Mason and Mavrick are players on the team.
Personal life[]
Miller and his wife, Jen, have three children: sons Mason and Mavrick, and a daughter Jaelyn. His daughter was born during the Heat's appearance in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls with a serious health issue stemming from pregnancy complications; he spent the first several days of his daughter's life shuttling between practices, games, and the hospital. He once owned a Java macaque named Sonny. He often tells the story in which his monkey escaped from his room: "You would always put him in his room, and then we'd lock the door, and then we'd put the dogs out, and then we'd lock the front door. Well, he found out how to unlock doors, unlocked his door, went downstairs, let the dogs in the house and opened the front door. About an hour later we got a call from our neighbors, saying, 'Your monkey is riding your dogs around the neighborhood.' ... I said, 'C'mon y'all, y'all got to get in the house."
Let It Fly Energy[]
In 2012, Miller founded the Let It Fly Energy line of energy drinks and energy shots. In a 2012 Forbes article, he said he started the company because he wanted a healthy alternative energy drink for athletes.
NBA career statistics[]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won an NBA championship | ||||
Regular season[]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Orlando | 82 | 62 | 29.1 | .436 | .407 | .711 | 4.0 | 1.7 | .6 | .2 | 11.9 |
| 2001–02 | Orlando | 63 | 53 | 33.7 | .438 | .383 | .762 | 4.3 | 3.1 | .7 | .4 | 15.2 |
| 2002–03 | Orlando | 49 | 39 | 37.3 | .418 | .340 | .847 | 5.8 | 2.8 | .7 | .3 | 16.4 |
| 2002–03 | Memphis | 16 | 13 | 22.5 | .510 | .500 | .806 | 3.4 | 1.9 | .4 | .3 | 12.8 |
| 2003–04 | Memphis | 65 | 65 | 27.2 | .438 | .372 | .723 | 3.3 | 3.6 | .9 | .2 | 11.1 |
| 2004–05 | Memphis | 76 | 51 | 30.0 | .505 | .433 | .720 | 3.9 | 2.9 | .7 | .3 | 13.4 |
| 2005–06 | Memphis | 74 | 9 | 30.6 | .466 | .407 | .800 | 5.4 | 2.7 | .7 | .4 | 13.7 |
| 2006–07 | Memphis | 70 | 69 | 39.1 | .460 | .406 | .793 | 5.4 | 4.3 | .8 | .3 | 18.5 |
| 2007–08 | Memphis | 70 | 70 | 35.3 | .502 | .432 | .774 | 6.7 | 3.4 | .5 | .2 | 16.4 |
| 2008–09 | Minnesota | 73 | 47 | 32.3 | .482 | .378 | .732 | 6.6 | 4.5 | .4 | .4 | 9.9 |
| 2009–10 | Washington | 54 | 50 | 33.4 | .501 | .480 | .824 | 6.2 | 3.9 | .7 | .2 | 10.9 |
| 2010–11 | Miami | 41 | 2 | 20.4 | .401 | .364 | .676 | 4.5 | 1.2 | .5 | .0 | 5.6 |
| 2011–12† | Miami | 39 | 2 | 19.3 | .435 | .453 | .400 | 3.3 | 1.1 | .4 | .2 | 6.1 |
| 2012–13† | Miami | 59 | 17 | 15.3 | .433 | .417 | .727 | 2.7 | 1.7 | .4 | .1 | 4.8 |
| 2013–14 | Memphis | 82 | 4 | 20.8 | .481 | .459 | .821 | 2.5 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | 7.1 |
| 2014–15 | Cleveland | 52 | 15 | 13.5 | .325 | .327 | .750 | 1.8 | .9 | .3 | .1 | 2.1 |
| 2015–16 | Denver | 47 | 2 | 7.9 | .355 | .365 | – | 1.1 | .9 | .3 | .1 | 1.3 |
| 2016–17 | Denver | 20 | 0 | 7.6 | .391 | .400 | 1.000 | 1.9 | 1.1 | .1 | .0 | 1.4 |
| Career | 1,032 | 570 | 26.9 | .459 | .407 | .769 | 4.2 | 2.6 | .6 | .2 | 10.6 | |
Playoffs[]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Orlando | 4 | 4 | 28.0 | .396 | .389 | .750 | 4.5 | 1.8 | .0 | .8 | 12.0 |
| 2002 | Orlando | 4 | 1 | 18.0 | .333 | .125 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | .0 | 4.8 |
| 2004 | Memphis | 4 | 4 | 24.5 | .353 | .385 | .333 | 3.0 | .8 | 1.3 | .0 | 7.5 |
| 2005 | Memphis | 4 | 4 | 27.5 | .486 | .471 | 1.000 | 2.5 | 2.8 | .0 | .8 | 12.0 |
| 2006 | Memphis | 4 | 1 | 26.8 | .400 | .125 | 1.000 | 3.8 | 1.8 | .5 | .5 | 8.5 |
| 2011 | Miami | 18 | 0 | 11.9 | .340 | .297 | — | 2.7 | .7 | .4 | .1 | 2.6 |
| 2012† | Miami | 23 | 0 | 16.0 | .404 | .413 | .818 | 2.5 | .7 | .4 | .1 | 5.2 |
| 2013† | Miami | 17 | 5 | 13.6 | .467 | .444 | — | 1.9 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 3.4 |
| 2014 | Memphis | 7 | 1 | 24.7 | .357 | .483 | .778 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .9 | .0 | 7.3 |
| 2015 | Cleveland | 9 | 1 | 7.2 | .600 | .600 | — | 1.1 | .0 | .1 | .1 | 1.0 |
| Career | 94 | 21 | 16.5 | .399 | .394 | .841 | 2.5 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 4.9 | |