Reggie Miller credits sister, comes clean in Hall speech

Reggie Miller credits sister Cheryl

When Reggie Miller was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame yesterday, he and his big sister Cheryl became the first brother-sister duo in the Hall. Because Cheryl is already a member of the HOF, she was given the honor of being one of three escorts for Reggie (Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson were the other two).

Imagine growing up around that house or being a cousin to the Millers and having to go to their house for any holiday. As is the case in many houses around the country, I’m sure the call to head to the park or driveway or street or wherever to ball was common. Reggie tells a great story in his book on how he and Cheryl used to hustle older guys at the local parks:

“Back in the fifth and sixth grades, we’d go to the courts at John Adams Elementary or Hunt Park and hustle two-on-two games. We had it down to a science. It was the best hustle scam in Riverside, California.

“I’d tell Cheryl to hide in the bushes, and then I’d go up to a couple of older kids and arrange a game. ‘You guys want to play?’ I’d said. ‘I’m by myself … unless you count my sister.’

“Then I’d whistle, and Cheryl would come out from behind the bushes looking like she didn’t know a thing about basketball. You could see the two other guys looking at each other like, ‘Oh, my God, this is going to be easy.’

“We’d play for ten dollars; the first team to 10 by ones would win the money. Then we’d get down, 5-0, double the bet, and then take care of business. I’d look at Cheryl, she’d look at me, we’d wink, and then … 10-5 us, and on our way to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal.”

I guess yesterday was final vindication for those guys that lost Happy Meal money over the years, at least they can say that their money went to future hall of famers…

Miller admits to pushing Anthony and Jordan

As Miller spoke during the induction, he also came clean on two well-documented plays from NBA playoff history, much to the amusement of the Naismith Hall audience: