Comedy Legend Mike Epps Shares How Reggie Miller Shaped His Lifelong Passion for the Pacers

There’s always that one superstar who makes a basketball fan fall in love with the game. Fans and the best players of all time all have that special someone, and for comedy legend and basketball fan Mike Epps, it was none other than Reggie Miller.

Epps is a born-and-raised Indianapolis boy. He gained fame through stand-up comedy and his hit performances in the Friday franchise. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still hold the Hoosier State close to his heart.

In an episode of 7 PM in Brooklyn, when Carmelo Anthony asked Epps about the player that drew him to basketball, he didn’t even hesitate. “Reggie Miller definitely,” he responded, before diving into a story about how he inspired him.

“I remember seeing him as a kid when he first came to Indiana from UCLA. He was always good. And he was always a leader,” added Epps. “Even though he was playing with some greats. Like Verne Fleming and all them dudes. But he still had that leadership value about him, even when he was young.”

Epps later proved how deep his Pacers fandom went. “So many great guys came through there like Byron Scott, Jalen Rose. We had some great players come through Indiana who played for seasons. I’ve always been a fan of the Pacers.”

Again, while Scott, Rose, Paul George, or even Tyrese Haliburton have grown as figures for Indiana basketball, Miller still sits atop the throne. Melo wondered if there was a moment that sold Epps on Reggie’s legend. Of course, he brought up the 8 points in 8.9 seconds moment against the New York Knicks.

“The sh** he was doing, hitting all them points in them little bitty seconds and sh**. I still ain’t seen no sh** like that,” Epps recalled.

All Indiana fans remember that as a magical moment. For every Knicks fan? A horror movie in under 10 seconds.

But Epps was done either. He brought up Steph Curry and how The Chef is the only modern player who reminds him in any way of Miller’s greatness.

“When I seen Steph Curry, he was the closest to what Reggie Miller was to me. They weren’t as smooth as you guys were, like you and LeBron. You all were on another level of smoothness. But just straight out scoring? Reggie Miller, boy, he’d light you up.”

Epps’ stories were about the feeling Reggie gave an entire city. That spark, that swagger, that sense that Indiana always had a shot as long as No. 31 was on the floor.

For Epps, Miller wasn’t simply a player; he was the heartbeat of his childhood and the reason basketball became more than a game. And even decades later, with new stars rising and the league constantly evolving, that connection still hits just as deep.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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