We all know that Reggie Miller is an Indiana Pacers lifer. The idea of playing on the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan is sacrilegious to him.
Advertisement
Reggie Miller’s career is defined by enduring excellence that somehow didn’t translate to championship success. The Pacers are one of the underrated franchises in NBA history and Miller’s legacy is a prime example of that.
Miller made the NBA Finals for the first time in 2000, at nearly 35 years old. His loss that year was a nod to the dominance of one Shaquille O’Neal more than anything else.
The Big Aristotle put in one of the most dominant Finals displays of all time. Miller came close to a Finals appearance for one last time in 2004, but the Pistons put paid to their hopes this time.
Reggie Miller spent the prime of his career battling the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls in the postseason. Miller was famous for running his mouth through the course of the game, even with Michael Jordan.
He did it to gain a mental edge, but extended rivalries often do some irreversible things to relationships. The idea of seeing Miller in either Knicks or Bulls colors was probably more scandalous to him than anyone else.
Reggie Miller would’ve told Michael Jordan to ‘go f*** himself’
ESPN’s Nick Friedell recently asked the Pacers legend if he’d ever have left Indiana for some other franchise. Miller’s answer was prompt and unwavering:
“If Michael Jordan would have called me and tried to sway me to come to Chicago, I would have told him to go f*** himself.”
Jordan and his Bulls had several rivalries that have stood the test of time. We’ve all heard of how MJ got beat for several years by the Celtics and Pistons dynasties before getting over the championship.
People tend to underrate how much real competition the Chicago Bulls faced in their first threepeat. The Pacers are relatively fondly remembered given how they’re the only team other than Patrick Ewing’s Knicks to push them to 7 games in the 90s.
