Finally. Reggie Miller last year (in his first eligible year) was turned away from being enshrined into the Hall of Fame due to lack of votes. The same mistake wasn’t made two years in a row, as today in New Orleans Reggie Miller received the requisite votes necessary to add his name to the entrants for the September 6-8, 2012 induction into the James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He needed 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election.
“Obviously in my opinion and in the opinion of every other Indiana Pacers fan, he should have got in last year,” said recently retired Pacer Jeff Foster, who was Miller’s teammate for six years. “But to get into the Hall of Fame is a huge honor. I know it’s something he’s extremely proud of and everybody who is a fan of Pacers basketball is extremely excited for him.”
Reggie Miller was one of the greatest three point shooters the NBA has ever seen. He technically even held that mark with the most three point shots made, until Ray Allen passed his mark last season. Although Allen is now technically the greatest long range shooter, Miller is still thought by many to be the most ‘clutch’ long range shooter of all-time. Just ask Knicks fans how clutch Reggie was, when he scored 8 points in 9 seconds to win Game 1 of their 1995 playoff series.:
What turned out to be one of the most tightly fought playoff series of all-time, the Pacers edged the Knicks in Game 7 by just one basket, so Reggie’s out of this world performance at the end of Game 1 turned into the stuff of legend for Indiana.
“I think Reggie is a Hall of Fame player,” former Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. “His career was a Hall of Fame career from the standpoint of how he lifted this franchise and the fact that he did it for a long period of time. He became one of the best long range shooters in the game. He was arguably one of the best clutch shooters in the game.”
Let’s all tip our hats to Reggie Miller today. Or cross our arms on our shooting stroke. Whatever it takes to recognize the man’s brilliant career.
[Quotes via IndyStar]
