Reggie Miller is definitely one of the best NBA players who never won a championship. He tried and tried, went against the best teams of the 90s and 2000s but was never able to do the job, regardless of his impressive performances on the court.
He can thank Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks and the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal-led Los Angeles Lakers for having a ringless career. He is one of the best sharpshooters the league has seen but he was never lucky enough to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, there was a time when he was really close to coming out of retirement and join a team that would win the NBA championship.
Back in 2007, the Boston Celtics were getting ready to take the league by storm when they traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. These two joined Paul Pierce and formed a Big 3 but GM Danny Ainge wanted more and he aimed very high. ESPN’s J.A. Adande wrote back in the day that the team had placed a big offer for Miller, 43 at the time, to join that team and give it a last run at the NBA title. Reggie had retired in 2005 and was working with TNT ever since that moment.
“I’m always flattered when my name is mentioned as someone who can still help an NBA team win a championship,” Miller said, via Adande. “I’ve had limited discussions with Celtics management about their roster and a potential role for me. At this time, I’m enjoying my role as an analyst with TNT.”
Ainge and coach Doc Rivers were ready to lure him away from TNT and they were confident he was actually considering the idea.
“[I have] contacted Reggie and he is contemplating a comeback with us,” Ainge told The Associated Press through a team spokesman.
Miller reflected on that moment, explaining he wasn’t like Michael Jordan when he returned to the court. He wasn’t bored, he didn’t miss anything from the routine he had during his active days and he was only thinking about one thing: winning.
“Mentally, I don’t know if I can do eight months,” he explained. “February, March, I would have been dead.”
“I want people to know, I wasn’t coming back because I was bored,” Miller added. “I wasn’t. Michael Jordan was bored when he came back. I didn’t miss the games, I didn’t miss the locker room, I didn’t miss the bus, I didn’t miss the planes. I wanted to come back to play with Kevin [Garnett] and possibly win a championship.”
“That was the reason I took it seriously and went two-a-days for two weeks straight,” he added.
In the end, he decided to stay retired, while the Celtics went to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals, winning their 17th title in franchise history. We don’t know what would have happened if Miller decided to join their Big 3 but it’s fair to say things went pretty well for them.
