featured-image

Reggie Conquered an Age-Old Challenge

The most difficult thing for an athlete, even those who showed incredible agility on the playing field, is to get off the stage gracefully.

We've seen it a thousand times before, the formerly elite star stumbling to the finish line of his career. Mickey Mantle batting .237 in his final season with the Yankees. Joe Namath looking lost in his final season with the Rams, of all teams. Muhammad Ali losing to Trevor Berbick in a ring set up on a softball diamond in the Bahamas. Michael Jordan looking incredibly ordinary for the Wizards.

So, on the day we recognize Reggie Miller for turning 50, perhaps this is the most fitting tribute. He aged gracefully as an athlete. He's still doing it, in fact, looking like he could still drain a few threes in the clutch while broadcasting all those college and NBA games.

Miller played 18 seasons for the Pacers, and was a viable starting guard to the end. The very end, when he scored a team-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting against Detroit in a playoff loss on May 19, 2005. Defeat inevitable, he was taken out of that game with 15.7 seconds to play and received a standing ovation, from the fans in The Fieldhouse and Pistons alike.

It wasn't a fluke. He had averaged 14.8 points that season at the age of 39, nearly five more than the previous season. He contributed several big scoring games that season, when suspensions required him to step up, including a 39-point game against the Lakers. Shooting your age in golf is impressive. Scoring your age in the NBA at 39 is even more unusual.

It doesn't always work this way, of course. The other Pacers with retired jersey numbers serve up an example. Fellow Hall of Famer Roger Brown was brought back for 10 games by Pacers coach Bob Leonard at the end of the 1974-75 season and averaged 4.6 points off the bench. He wanted to keep playing but nobody would have him. Done at 33. Fellow Hall of Famer Mel Daniels came back after a year off to play 11 games for New Jersey in the 1976-77 season, averaging 3.5 points on 37 percent shooting before he was released. He was 32. Potential Hall of Famer George McGinnis was released by the Pacers in training camp in the fall of 1982, after a season in which he had averaged 4.7 points. He was 32 as well.

Tales of athletes struggling to find a graceful exit are cliches. Jimmy Rayl, Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1959, was voted the Pacers' Most Popular Player after their first season and was cut 27 games into their second season. Billy Keller, Mr. Basketball in 1965, was a valuable member of all three ABA title teams and one of the most popular players in franchise history, but was asked to leave before the first NBA season in 1976. Freddie Lewis, the starting point guard and captain of all three ABA title teams, was released during that first NBA season.

The Colts' version of Reggie, the wide receiver named Wayne, is currently trying to rewrite his exit, apparently willing to wear the uniform of the Colts' most hated rival, New England, to squeeze out one more season and leave on his terms.

The great ones tend to hang on as long as they can, talking themselves into thinking they can still do it like they once did it, even when their bodies rebel. You can't blame them. Adrenaline is the most addictive chemical in the world, and so many succumb to its grip. Many of them wind up bitter, cursing at their fate.

Miller didn't. He wrestled retirement it to the ground rather than let it pin him. He told me a few years before his final season he wouldn't play past the age of 40. He told everyone on Media Day before his final season to take a close look, because “Uncle Reg” wasn't going to be around forever. It was no surprise, then, when he made it official during that season.

He nearly gave in to temptation and came back to play for Boston a few years later. He no doubt could have contributed something off the bench for the Celtics' championship team in 2008. But it only would have been something. And it would have been off the bench. And he would have compromised. Ultimately, he never forgot his exit lines.

Miller went out to standing ovations across the NBA, not to mention a Bentley from Herb and Mel Simon. He's still guaranteed a standing ovation at The Fieldhouse, and will be forever more.

Growing old is tough for anybody. It's even tougher for a professional athlete. Miller put on a clinic of how to do it, and he's still giving lessons.

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.