Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Former NBA marksman Mike Miller has still got it.
Mike Miller hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2016-17 season, when he averaged 1.4 points in 7.6 minutes per game.
He’s 40 years old now, and even during his last few glory years with the Miami Heat from 2010-13, his value came solely from his 3-point shooting ability. Ask him to put the ball on the floor or do anything even remotely athletic, and you’d likely be getting underwhelming results.
That statement just goes to show the incredible gap between NBA players and college/high school prospects, let alone you and I.
Based on this clip, even 40-year-old Mike Miller has still very much got it.
Miller, a former Sixth Man of the Year and 2001’s NBA Rookie of the Year, looks to be playing at a practice court at the University of Memphis in the above clip. His defender isn’t going 100 percent at first, but after Miller drains a couple of 3s from deep, he seems to step up his effort a bit.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to deter the two-time NBA champion in the slightest after knocking down two contested 3s. When his defender slaps the ball out of his hands, Miller takes his time recovering, baiting his defender into thinking he’s about to take a block-able shot. At that point, Miller hits him with a perfect pump fake and blows right by him off the dribble.
The defender has a distinct speed advantage and quickly catches up, but Miller skillfully cuts him off with his body, fading in the opposite direction on the layup to ensure a clean (albeit more difficult) look.
His next take off the dribble is the most impressive though, since he uses his body and his footwork to get off a goofy but smooth layup before his defender can rise up and make a play on the ball. At that point, he’s got his defender on a string with a series of pump fakes leading into a wide-open pull-up jumper.
“It don’t matter what you do to me!” Miller shouted triumphantly. “I’m still the champ!”
Obviously these clips have been cut and sequenced together, so we don’t see any of Miller’s misses (or him playing defense), but as easy as it seems to poke fun as his defender for getting cooked by a 40-year-old Mike Miller … 40-year-old Mike Miller has clearly still got it.