Indiana Pacers: 10 best shooting guards in Indiana Pacers history

1. Reggie Miller

Reggie Miller is one of the greatest shooting guards of all-time, not just in the context of the Indiana Pacers. There is almost no debate with Miller; he’s also the team’s greatest player in franchise history.

While Miller’s Pacers teams ultimately wouldn’t hoist a Larry O’Brien trophy, they would go to the Conference Finals six times, advancing to the NBA Finals once, losing to an extremely talented Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Lakers team.

Miller leads the franchise in minutes and games played, field goals, 3-point field goals, points, steals, and assists.

The fact that Miller more than doubles Rik Smits, who is second on the franchise leaderboard in points scored, is a snapshot of just how impactful he has been for the franchise over the years.

With the Pacers, Reggie Miller amassed 174.4 win shares, 131.2 in front of the next-highest player on this ranking of shooting guards, and 110.9 in front of the second-most in franchise history.

Having made over 2,500 3-pointers, Miller is known as one of the greatest shooters of all-time. Had he played in the modern, pace-and-space era where long mid-range shots aren’t sought after, it’s arguable that number would have only gone up.

Upon retirement and for many years after, Miller owned the NBA’s record for most threes made, later broken by Ray Allen.

In one of his highest-scoring games, for instance, a good amount of his points came just one or two steps inside the 3-point line.

Of course, Miller is also a testament to the idea of taking (and making) the shots that are available no matter where they are, something that the Pacers stay true to even today, as they take a volume of 3-pointers well below the league average.

Miller’s statistics don’t capture the impact he had on pulling the franchise out of the dark place it had been in since joining the NBA. Drafted out of UCLA in 1987, the Pacers had made the playoffs in just one of the 10 seasons in which they were a part of the NBA prior to drafting Miller.

Once he led the team to the playoffs for the first time in his career in 1990, Miller and the Pacers would make the postseason in 15 of the 16 remaining years of his career.

Miller spent his entire playing career in Indianapolis, and put the Pacers on the map culturally, springing them into the future and allowing for the organization to have a competitive life, even in a small market. He was a clutch competitor and the savior of the franchise. When it comes to pro basketball in Indy, nothing comes close to Reggie Miller.