Legendary sharpshooter from the Indiana Pacers, Reggie Miller, has a bone to pick with the GOAT, Michael Jordan. Despite both players being retired since the early to mid-2000s, Miller’s rivalry with Jordan runs deep.
Related: Michael Jordan on chasing 7th ring: “I do believe we could’ve won seven”
The Miller vs. Jordan rivalry was something to watch in the 1990s. The two shooting guards played 49 regular season games against each other, with MJ’s team winning 32 times.
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Jordan put up averages of 29.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.4 steals per game during their matchups. Miller, on the other hand, averaged 18.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.9 steals per game.
The two only met once during the playoffs, but it turned out to be one of the best series of all time.
The Pacers famously pushed Jordan’s Bulls to seven games during the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana became just the second team to do so in Chicago’s championship run.
Ultimately, the Bulls prevailed in seven games, giving the overall edge to MJ in the Miller vs. Jordan battle.
Miller’s appearance on All The Smoke
Miller recently appeared on the All The Smoke podcast and joked about the possibility of taking a swing at Jordan if they crossed paths today.
“To this day, I think I probably would take a swing on Mike if I saw him,” Miller said. “I might, I don’t know, because there are certain things that are said in between the lines that trigger you, that you remember.
“It’s funny because during the 75th anniversary, remember Mike wasn’t part of any of the pre-picture and all that, but he showed up before we all walked out.
“He’s going at Magic, we’re all around there, and I’m saying to myself, ‘I might.’ We’ve got the 75 greatest players out there right now and in my head I’m saying to myself, ‘Damn I might.'”
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Miller later spoke about the time he and Jordan got into a fight during a 1993 regular season game.
“I was like, ‘All right, tip-in, got you — now I’m going straight to him, let him know.’ Okay, I had to hurry up and turn around because I didn’t want him to come and like chokehold me,” Miller said.
“So I’m like, ‘Okay.’ We both get into it — we get into this — he scrapes my eye. Like I can’t see. He was trying to scratch it.
“Look at this scratch. Scratched the crap out of me. Look at this big hand! But look, I’m holding him and controlling him — I’m like, ‘Okay, but you ain’t going anywhere’.”
Even though the two often got into heated confrontations, Miller and Jordan respected each other’s games. One thing about Miller, he wasn’t afraid to stand toe to toe vs. anyone.
