Q & A: Reggie Miller
SI: How do you know you won't get the itch to play again?
Miller: Because every morning when I wake up, my ankle pops and my back hurts.
SI: Your production company, Boom Baby Productions, is filming Beautiful Ohio, starring Rita Wilson and William Hurt. How did that come about?
Miller: Over the last six or seven years I have been gearing myself toward Hollywood. But I don't want to make big-budget films like Spider-Man or Titanic. I want to make movies like The Upside of Anger, Maria Full of Grace, old-school films like Some Kind of Wonderful or Vision Quest, movies you remember songs and lines from.
SI: Night in and night out, who is the best player in the league?
Miller: [Long pause.] 1A: Tim Duncan. 1B: Kevin Garnett.
SI: Chris Rock said his favorite moment as an NBA fan was when you told him to shut up. Besides Spike Lee, which celebrity did you most enjoy yapping with?
Miller: Samuel L. Jackson. He was shooting Unbreakable in Philadelphia when we were playing the Sixers in the playoffs. I had always seen him at Knicks games so I thought he was a Knicks fan. Now he's cheering for the Sixers. I don't like that. Come to the games, sure, but don't be wearing the AI jersey like you're a Sixers fan. So I let him know that.
SI: Is there an athlete in another sport that reminds you of you?
Miller: Edwin Moses. He was a workaholic and I was a workaholic. He stayed around so long and was still graceful.
SI: Your life is on the line. Pick one current NBA player and one from history to take the shot.
Miller: In history, MJ. Today, AI. It's sad to have my life in the little man's hands, but I'll go with AI because I know he will make the shot. Or he'll get fouled and make the two free throws to save me.
SI: Did you love being the guy in the black hat?
Miller: When you grow up in a household with the greatest women's basketball player ever and you are being compared to your sister [Cheryl Miller] every single day, you are always somewhat behind the eight ball. In high school going to road games, I would hear chants. Going to road games going to UCLA, I would hear the chants. Trying to outplay my sister or come out from her shadow, I think that gave me an edge, or a chip on my shoulder. That's where the flair and a little bit of the drama came from.
• For more from Reggie Miller, go to SI.com/scorecard.
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AMY GRAVES/WIREIMAGE.COM (MILLER)
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MANNY MILLAN (MILLER SHOOTING)