 Miles in 2006 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-10-09)October 9, 1981 (age 44) Belleville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Illinois) |
| NBA draft | 2000: 1st round, 3rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Playing career | 2000–2009 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 21, 23, 3 |
| Career history | |
| 2000–2002 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2002–2004 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2004–2008 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2008–2009 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 4,507 (10.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,190 (4.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 840 (1.9 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Darius LaVar Miles (born October 9, 1981) is an American former professionalbasketball player.
The 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 235 lb (107 kg)forward was selected directly out of high school by theLos Angeles Clippers with the third overall pick in the2000 NBA draft. He was a First TeamNBA All-Rookie in2001, a first for aprep-to-pro player.
Miles' playing career nearly came to an end when he was released by thePortland Trail Blazers in April 2008 after two years away from the court followingmicrofracture surgery on his right knee. He returned to action during the 2008–09 season as a member of theMemphis Grizzlies.
Miles was born inBelleville, Illinois and attendedEast St. Louis Lincoln High School andEast St. Louis Senior High School inEast St. Louis, Illinois. Before declaring to enter the2000 NBA draft, Miles had signed aNational Letter of Intent to play for theSt. John's Red Storm men's basketball team, alongside fellow top recruitOmar Cook.Mike Jarvis, the head coach for the Red Storm at the time, has stated that Miles' commitment significantly helped obtain Cook and the other incoming freshmen from the recruiting class.
Miles entered the2000 NBA draft and was selected by theLos Angeles Clippers as the third overall pick, at the time the highest a player had been drafted directly from high school. His debut game was played on October 31, 2000, in a 94–107 loss to theUtah Jazz where he recorded eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.[1]
For the next two seasons Miles,Quentin Richardson,Corey Maggette,Lamar Odom andElton Brand entertained fans with their exciting, high flying style of play. He played his first two seasons with the Clippers, earning anNBA All-Rookie Team first team honor in2001. In those years Miles, Richardson, and others helped the Clippers improve their performance from 15 wins in99–00, to 31 wins in00–01 to finally 39 wins in01–02. In the2001–02 season, the Clippers appeared to be on the verge of their first playoff appearance since1997; however, they were only able to win three of the last 12 games of the season, ultimately finishing five games out of theplayoffs.
Following the 2001–2002 season, Miles was traded to theCleveland Cavaliers, alongsideHarold Jamison, in a deal forAndre Miller andBryant Stith where he spent a season and a half before being traded to thePortland Trail Blazers forJeff McInnis andRuben Boumtje-Boumtje midway through the2003–04 season.
During the2004–05 season, Miles made headlines after a confrontation with then-coachMaurice Cheeks in which Miles reportedly insulted Cheeks with racial slurs[2] and remarked he"did not care if the team were to lose the next 20 games" since Cheeks was"going to be fired anyway". According to ESPN'sChad Ford and other accounts, after Cheeks asked Miles to leave, Miles' response was "Make me." When Cheeks left the room to see Blazers' general managerJohn Nash, Miles ran behind him shouting, "That's right, run to your daddy."[3]On April 19, 2005, he scored a career-high 47 points in a loss against theDenver Nuggets, which equaled the eighth-highest single-game output in franchise history up to that point.[4][5][6]
Late in the 2005–2006 season, Miles severely injured his right knee. Five days later, on April 15, 2006, he played in his 40th and last game of the season.[7] He missed the entire2006–07 and2007–08 NBA seasons due tomicrofracture surgery to repair his injury.[8]
In an effort to shed Miles's $18 million contract,[9] thePortland Trail Blazers petitioned theNBA and theNBA Players Association in March 2008 to provide an independent doctor to decide whether Miles could play again.[10] The examination determined that Miles' knee injury was severe enough to be career-ending, prompting the Blazers to request waivers for his release on April 14, 2008.[8] However, Miles had the option to sign on with another team if offered a contract, potentially reverting the $18 million savings the Blazers hoped to gain if Miles played in 10 games in 2008.[11]
Complicating matters was a 10-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy levied by the NBA, which Miles was required to serve before he could play for any NBA team.[9]
On August 22, 2008, the Celtics signed Miles to a non-guaranteed contract offering him a chance to earn a roster spot at training camp.[12] Though he worked out twice with the team and impressed with his health and attitude,[13] he was waived on October 20, before the regular season started.[14]
On December 13, 2008, Miles signed with theMemphis Grizzlies.[15] After sitting out his ten-game suspension, Miles made his season debut with the team on January 4, 2009, playing the last 1:46 in a 102–82 win against theDallas Mavericks.[16] On January 7, after collecting only two rebounds and two blocks in nine minutes over two games, Miles was waived.[17] On January 9, following a controversy over his re-signing, the Grizzlies signed Miles to a 10-day contract. The next game, against the Cavaliers on January 14, Miles played 14 minutes and exhibited some of the quickness and leaping ability he once possessed. He recorded 13 points on 4 of 6 shooting and making 5 of 7 free throws in a 102–87 loss.[18] On January 30, 2009, the Grizzlies signed Miles for the rest of the 2008–09 season.[19]
On July 9, 2009, the Grizzlies renounced their rights on Miles in order to save cap room.
Under NBA rules, if a team is granted salary-cap relief for a career-ending injury to a player who thereafter participates in at least ten games the next season, the salary cap relief is terminated, and the amount is added back to the team's salary cap ceiling.
On January 8, 2009, after Miles played six pre-season games with the Celtics and two before being released from a non-guaranteed contract by the Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers threatened to sue any of the other 29 NBA teams that picked up Miles and played him specifically to adversely impact their salary cap and tax positions.[20] In response, theNBA Players Association threatened to file a grievance against the Trail Blazers.[21] After a directive from the NBA Commissioner's office the next day declaring that any team could sign Miles and the League would approve the contract, the Memphis Grizzlies re-signed Miles on January 10, 2009, to a 10-day non-guaranteed contract. Miles then played the two games necessary to trigger re-addition of the $18 million to Portland's cap amount. Miles then re-signed two more 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies before being signed for the rest of the 2008–09 season on January 30, 2009.
Miles' final NBA game was played on April 13, 2009, in a 110–119 loss to thePhoenix Suns in which he recorded two points, two rebounds and an assist in six and one-half minutes of playing time.
Miles had a role inThe Perfect Score (2004), as a high school basketball star who needs to achieve a qualifyingSAT score to attendSt. John's University, closely paralleling his real-life situation coming out of high school. He also appeared inNational Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), along with then-Clipper teammatesMichael Olowokandi andQuentin Richardson. He also appeared in a documentary titledThe Youngest Guns (2004), which detailed Miles' and Richardson's first few years in theNBA.[22]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | L.A. Clippers | 81 | 21 | 26.3 | .505 | .053 | .521 | 5.9 | 1.2 | .6 | 1.5 | 9.4 |
| 2001–02 | L.A. Clippers | 82 | 6 | 27.2 | .481 | .158 | .620 | 5.5 | 2.2 | .9 | 1.3 | 9.5 |
| 2002–03 | Cleveland | 67 | 62 | 30.0 | .410 | .000 | .594 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.2 |
| 2003–04 | Cleveland | 37 | 16 | 24.0 | .432 | .167 | .542 | 4.5 | 2.2 | .7 | .7 | 8.9 |
| 2003–04 | Portland | 42 | 40 | 28.4 | .526 | .200 | .702 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .8 | 12.6 |
| 2004–05 | Portland | 63 | 22 | 27.0 | .482 | .348 | .600 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 12.8 |
| 2005–06 | Portland | 40 | 23 | 32.2 | .461 | .200 | .534 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 14.0 |
| 2008–09 | Memphis | 34 | 0 | 8.8 | .485 | .167 | .742 | 1.7 | .5 | .3 | .6 | 3.5 |
| Career | 446 | 190 | 26.3 | .472 | .168 | .590 | 4.9 | 1.9 | .9 | 1.1 | 10.1 | |
On August 3, 2011, Miles was arrested inLambert-St. Louis International Airport for carrying a loaded gun.[23]After making nearly $62 million in his NBA career, Miles filed for bankruptcy on September 18, 2016.[24] In October 2018, Miles addressed mental health issues that he had battled after his career in aPlayer's Tribune article.[25]Since February 2019 he has co-hostedThe Knuckleheads podcast with former Clippers teammate and childhood friendQuentin Richardson associated withThe Players' Tribune. On the podcast, Miles and Richardson interview former and current professional basketball players from the perspective of ex-NBA players.[26]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Illinois Mr. Basketball award winner 2000 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |