NBA Cares…just ask Mike Miller

In the wake of Mike and Jennifer Miller’s generous $200,000 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, we’re running an earlier version of a story that appeared in the Grizzlies’ game day magazine in Feb., 2008 about their various other community outreach initiatives.

You know those NBA Cares ads you see when you’re watching a game? The ones that show players from the Grizzlies and other teams working with kids, or serving food to the underprivileged, or doing charitable work of some kind? Of course you do, they come on during every game. They’re as ubiquitous as John Mellencamp declaring whose country it is during commercials of NFL games.

But do the ads mean anything to you? Or are you a cynic who assumes the players make nice while the cameras are on, then get in their Escalades and head home to their palatial estates as soon as the red light is off?

Sure, it’s easy to dismiss the ads as league-driven PR. But they do mean something, particularly when it comes to players like Mike Miller, who’s as active in the community as any player in the NBA. The only problem with doing an NBA Cares ad for Miller is that 30 seconds is hardly enough time to capture all the work he does in Memphis and his home state of South Dakota.

Whether it’s appearing at Read to Achieve events, youth basketball camps or charitable organizations, Miller does it all. Before Christmas he and his wife Jen went to the Hope House Day Care, an organization for kids impacted by HIV and AIDS, to deliver toys that had been purchased by Grizzlies players and coaches. For Miller, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of the contributions he makes in Memphis.

“Not only do I like it and I like to see the reaction of people, but it’s something we should do,” he says of his myriad community projects and appearances. “We have a real good life and growing up we had a lot of things go our way. We’re only in the spotlight so long and our impact only lasts so long, so I’m trying to make the most of it while I can.”

He’ll also put his money where his mouth it. Earlier this season he purchased 333 tickets to the November 24 game at which his Team USA jersey was being given away and personally handed them to fans who came to the preceding game.

But that purchase pales in comparison to another financial contribution he made last summer. Mike and Jen made a $1 million donation to establish an endowment fund in their names to provide support for Sanford Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Mitchell, South Dakota. In honor of the Millers’ contribution, the hospital named its pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) the Mike and Jennifer Miller Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

“The stuff I do with the children’s hospital back home is important to me because I have two healthy kids, knock on wood, and my wife and I are believers that every kid should have an opportunity,” he says. “Without what we’re doing and what a lot of other guys are doing back home in South Dakota, a lot of kids wouldn’t have that opportunity. The same thing goes with (my work with) Make-A-Wish and the Hope House, it’s just giving kids an opportunity.”

“Everybody in South Dakota knows Mike as a basketball player. Mike and Jen will long be remembered for their charity and philanthropy,” said Sanford Health president and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft. “Mike’s basketball life is being used for much more than what people see…he and Jen are going to directly impact the lives of children and families. Mike and his family are a blessing to our region and its people.”

With an anticipated completion of 2009, this new building will provide inpatient, outpatient and clinic services for pediatric patients and their families in a family-centered environment designed to meet the unique healing needs of children.

If you’re noticing a theme here, it’s that most of Miller’s charitable work is geared towards children. It’s a fire that is stoked in Miller in light of the good fortune of he and his wife in having two happy and healthy boys of their own, Mason and Mavrick.

“A lot of the stuff I do is for kids because I think the whole key to life is your start,” he says. “I think the one thing about kids is that’s where you make your impact because as they get older it gets tougher to steer them in the right direction and give them an opportunity. But when they’re young and have an opportunity you hope they take that right path and make the right decisions.”

But along with his charitable work through both the Grizzlies and his eponymous foundation, Miller is also branching out into the business world with the launch of his own clothing line. Not typically a suit-and-tie guy, Miller decided to stop looking all over for clothes that fit his style, and instead decided to produce them himself.

“It’s fun, I enjoy it. I know what I like and I try to find it but I can’t, so I’m doing my own stuff. So far it’s been good and it’s gotten a good response,” he says. “It’s a combination of a lot of things. A lot of vintage stuff, zip-up hoodies, long-sleeved shirts, it’s nice. It’s good stuff.”

Miller’s clothing line, M33M Clothing, will be available in stores in the near future.

His versatility off the court is no surprise for a player who can fill any role on the court. As the only player in league history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year, Miller is a coach’s dream, a player who will take whatever role he’s asked to perform and do it without complaint.

Two seasons ago, on the heels of his Sixth Man Award, Miller rejoined the starting lineup and carried much of the scoring load while Pau Gasol was out with the foot injury he suffered in international play. Miller responded, and put up career-highs across the board. His play earned him a spot with the U.S. national team that won gold at the FIBA Americas Championship, a win that will send the U.S. team to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Miller didn’t miss a beat last season, putting up over 16 points a game while pulling down a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game.

But as Miller will readily tell you, the numbers he puts up on the court are insignificant compared to what he does off the court.