lost links

Other than Gary Payton, Reggie Miller was the last significant link to the era of basketball represented by the late 80s - mid 90s
Gary Payton, Shaquile O'Neal, and Grant Hill are the only remaining NBA players from the 1996 USA Men's Basketball Team, which lost another member to old age last night when Reggie Miller retired after the Pacer's game 6 loss to the Detroit Pistons - scoring 27 points on his way out the door while getting a chance to play one more time on his home court.










In the early 90s, Cliff Hall and I would have epic one-on-one battles in the backyard of his neighbor's home where there was a small, but well kept, basketball net, glass backboard and concrete drive. These battles usually took place during the spring and summer NBA playoffs - cliff was usually Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen, but I was always Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing or Reggie Miller. Every shot was narrated by a pretend Marv Albert and scores were kept with great care in a never-ending Best of X series.