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SALT LAKE CITY — George Karl believes Andre Miller is one of the top five NBA passers of all-time. There was a play Wednesday night in the Denver Nuggets game against the Utah Jazz that serves as a perfect example.
Miller brought the ball up the court in transition, and just before he reached half court, he lobbed a pass to Kenneth Faried for a dunk over an unsuspecting Paul Millsap.
It was a play that created some buzz on Twitter and made SportsCenter's top plays. The talk about the play was about Faried's finish and not the pass that made it possible. That's okay with Miller, who has never been concerned about getting the recognition and attention he probably deserves. It's not his style to care.
"At some point the recognition will come," Miller said. "I think I've earned respect and the hard work has paid off, and I've earned respect with players and coaches and managers around the league, so that's all that matters to me."
Hard work and the respect of his peers is what Miller values most. He has carried himself in the NBA the same way he did in college at the University of Utah.
"He's a leader in the locker room and he does it with a humble demeanor," Karl said. "He's somewhat remarkable at 37 years old to be playing with the young guys, as well as he plays some nights being the best player on the court."
Miller is now in his 14th NBA season, and when you take a closer look, he has had a very impressive career.
He is 10th all-time in assists and is quickly closing in on Rod Strickland for ninth. He has been one of the league's iron men having once played 632 consecutive games. He's missed just four games in his career and played nine complete seasons without missing a game. He has nine career triple doubles, has scored 30+ points in a game 16 times and once scored 52 points in a game against Dallas in 2010. He is one of only eight players in NBA history to score 15,000 points and dish out 7,500 assists. The other seven are, or will be, in the Hall of Fame.
NBA all-time assist leaders
| Rank | Player | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Stockton | 15,806 |
| 2 | JASON KIDD | 12,072 |
| 3 | Mark Jackson | 10,334 |
| 4 | STEVE NASH | 10,249 |
| 5 | Magic Johnson | 10,141 |
| 6 | Oscar Robertson | 9,887 |
| 7 | Isiah Thomas | 9,061 |
| 8 | Gary Payton | 8,966 |
| 9 | Rod Strickland | 7,987 |
| 10 | ANDRE MILLER | 7,923 |
That is an impressive resume, but he'd rather talk about something else.
"It's been fun," Miller said about his time in the NBA. "But I tell a lot of people that its nothing compared to the college experience that I had here. The friends that I made, the environment, the people, you know, just as a whole. I could never take back those moments. It was the best time of my life."
It's been 15 years since Andre Miller led the Runnin' Utes to the 1998 NCAA Championship Game. He was just in San Antonio recently where the 1998 Final Four took place. He took the time to reflect on what that team accomplished.
"That was probably the funnest time," he recalled. "Just the whole community coming together, Salt Lake City, and the fans and the support for the University and the players, it was something I take with me forever."
Miller's performance during that run earned him national attention and caught the eye of NBA scouts. His most impressive individual performance came in the Elite 8 against Arizona. He logged a triple double in an upset of the defending national champions in his hometown of Los Angeles. It was the highlight of his basketball career.
That Utah team took on the personality of their point guard and came up just one half short of a national championship.
"We had a bond where we understood what each other could bring to the table," he said. "We knew what we could do and what we couldn't do. We really didn't have no big egos or attitudes. Everybody came to work and was willing to get better and I think that was a big part of our success that year."
Fifteen years later he once again finds himself a leader on a team with similar attributes. The Denver Nuggets don't have a star player yet they currently sit in third place in the Western Conference and recently put together a 15-game winning streak. Miller has been willing to be a back-up to Ty Lawson but still averages 10 points and 6 assists per game off the bench. He can be seen coaching teammates during a pre-game shoot around. It's something many NBA veterans aren't willing to do but he believes it's the responsibility that comes with being a leader.
"I don't know if Andre has the desire to be a coach but he definitely has the mental makeup and experience to be a coach," George Karl said.
He knows at age 37 his time playing basketball is almost over. While he hopes to be involved in the game in some form after retirement he doesn't see coaching in his future. He just looks forward to the time when he can sit back and reflect on his years of hard work.
"I'm kind of at a mid-life crisis right now as far as what I want to do after basketball," he said. "But I'm preparing. There's going to be a time when I can step away from it and relax a little bit and just enjoy life. That's what working hard is for earlier in your career to be able to sit back and relax and enjoy your family and friends."
Andre has certainly earned that opportunity to relax and enjoy life after dedicating so many years to the game he loves. When that time comes we can all reflect on whether his accomplishments are hall of fame worthy.
