UCLA Basketball Top 20 Players of All Time: No. 7

As we continue with the ranking of the top 20 best UCLA Bruins of all-time, we’re inching closer to the top five as we arrive at the No. 7 slot.

This Bruin is one of the most widely known players to come from UCLA and has one of the best NBA careers of any Bruin mentioned so far.

UCLA Basketball Top 20 Players of All Time: No. 7 Reggie Miller

Jan 2, 1988; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; UCLA Bruins guard Reggie Miller (31) in action against the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Bruins lost 80-73.Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Many people may argue that Reggie Miller deserves a spot in the top five on this list, but he lacks the one thing that players ahead of him achieved: team success.

In all four years of Miller’s UCLA career, the Bruins failed to have any team success at all, with the second round of the NCAA Tournament the furthest that UCLA ever reached while Miller was there. Under coach and Bruins legend Walt Hazzard, UCLA missed the tournament entirely in three of Miller's four seasons.

Jan. 30, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins former player Reggie Miller speaks to the crowd after his jersey was retired during half time of the game against the USC Trojans at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Miller never saw much success in the NCAA Tournament, but he won the NIT with UCLA as a sophomore and won the NIT MVP award. That season, he averaged 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. That was a major improvement from his freshman season, where he averaged only 4.6 points.

His junior season is when he really made a name for himself. Miller led the conference with 25.9 points per game, an incredibly insane rate in college basketball. Despite his impressive stats, Miller didn't receive much attention on a national scale.

Miller’s NBA Success

Jan, 1988; South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; UCLA Bruins guard Reggie Miller (31) in action against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Miller’s NBA success does much of the heavy lifting for his ranking here. As a well-known NBA superstar, Miller played 18 seasons in the NBA, all with the Indiana Pacers.

He made five All-Star teams, three All-NBA teams, and was the NBA’s all-time three-point field goals made leader when he retired. Miller has no doubt left his mark on the game of basketball, as he’s widely known as one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history.

May 10, 1998; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers' Reggie Miller shoots a three-pointer with 5.1 seconds left in regulation to tie Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York Sunday, May 10, 1998. The Pacers went on to win the game 118-107 and take a 3-1 lead with Game 5 in Indianapolis Wednesday; Mandatory credit: The Indy Star-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Miller has some of the greatest individual stats at every stop in his career, he never won at a high level. Even in his NBA career, Miller never won a championship and remains one of the best all-time players to never win one.

Regardless, Miller’s abilities make him an easy selection for the top 20 Bruins of all-time. His combination of scoring and influence makes him a Bruin who will be remembered forever.

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