Interview: Andre Miller is '80, 90 Percent Sure' He's Retiring, Isn't a Fan of KD's Decision

Complex Sports spoke with Miller about his China visit, his traveling advice, how the game has changed throughout his career, and his career intentions.

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With Tim Duncan announcing his retirement earlier this week, Andre Miller is now one of just six active NBA players who played in the 1990s.

Miller has been on nine different teams, most recently with the San Antonio Spurs, in his 17-year career, and is the only person to have scored 16,000 points, dish out 8,000 assists, and get 1,500 steals without making an All-Star team. But his love for the game has kept him from calling it a career, despite being 40 years old and actually being a month older than The Big Fundamental.

The love for basketball has sent Miller, along with Dominique Wilkins, Alonzo Mourning, Tracy McGrady, and Gary Harris out to to the Far East where he's helping NBA China launch 5V5, the league’s first five-on-five basketball tournament for elite players in the country. Complex Sports spoke with Miller about his visit, his traveling advice, how the game has changed throughout his career, and whether he's coming back for one more season.

(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

What’s the ultimate goal of this project and what have you been doing in China?
Me and my son, we come out here and just hitting a couple different cities branding the NBA basketball word around, and it’s been a fun experience man. You walk around and have fun; yesterday was a fun day interacting with some of the fans and having a little half-court shooting contest. It’s been a great experience so far.

So the ultimate goal is trying to broaden the game of basketball globally?
Yeah, I mean the game is global. [They’re] telling us all about China and what people go through in daily life, we walked around the city—this is my first time coming here and I expected something different, but it’s definitely a place where we even talk about “why wouldn’t we have an All-Star Weekend over here.” But just eating different types of food and meeting different cultures and learning about the country is something I never thought I’d be able to experience.

 

This is your first time over there, but what’s your No. 1 overseas traveling tip?
I just came with a carry-on bag and one check in bag. But I would say come with a carry-on bag and just drift. Try to meet people and learn about the culture and stuff and try to bring in as much as you can. That’s what I tired to do. I’m not a household name in the NBA, but people here recognize you, they understand what’s going on.

In that carry-on bag, what are three essentials you have to take with you?
Well I can wear the same thing every day if I needed to. Gotta have a toothbrush and toothpaste, gotta have some deodorant. That’s pretty much it. I’m an easy-going guy, so you definitely gotta have a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. The weather is beautiful out here, it’s kinda like back home in California. It rained a little bit yesterday, but you know, I’ve tried some different food, but you just gotta be open-minded. Don’t put so much pressure on you, just be open-minded and try new things.

I’m gonna test your knowledge...You have missed three games in your career. Do you know when you missed those games and what made you miss those games?
I don’t know how many games I’ve actually missed. If you count the DNPs the last few years, there’s probably more games, but health-wise, I’ve been able to compete in almost every game and be ready to play in every game. I don’t know if it was my first or second year, I think I had a small little separated shoulder when I was with Cleveland and they forced me to sit down—I wanna say it was my second year. Then I had a twisted ankle when I was with the Clippers, that was probably ’02. And then I had a funeral, and that was ’02. So I think those were the ones, two of them in 2002, and I think one in maybe 2000, 2001. I got suspended one game too, though, so...

Outside of that, you’ve been pretty lucky with staying healthy. How much has free agency changed in your career, and are you surprised Kevin Durant went to Golden State?
I mean, I was surprised, but I wasn’t. I think the players now are a lot more aware of business in basketball and don’t wanna put the pressure on themselves like the players back then. If we got one or two guys, we gon’ make the team work and you try to win the championship, but now the difference of basketball, you could go make all this money and go get on the best team and it’s not a big deal. I don’t mind the decision, it caught me off-guard because he was on a great team in Oklahoma. But now, it’s like “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” I’m happy for him—that’s how the game has evolved. Would I have done it? Probably not, it’s just my mentality. I wanna beat the team that beat me. But now things have changed, and maybe that’s good for the NBA, you never know.

I’m pretty much, probably 80, 90 percent sure I won’t play, but you never know. I might wake up saying “I wanna go play” because I enjoy and love the game.

You think it’s good for the NBA? Adam Silver just came out and said he isn’t a fan of it.
I’m not going to say it’s good for the NBA, you don’t know what to expect because he hasn’t played in uniform yet. If it was me, I probably wouldn’t have went to a team like that, because it kinda shifts the mentality of teams. You got veterans that are jumping on teams that are already championship teams, they sign a minimum deal, and then a team that is stacked and they have enough money to pay a guy like Kevin Durant. It kinda un-evens the playing field. It’s not fair, but that’s the business, and that’s [how] you think the league would want it, and the fans, they wanna see that also, I think.

You’ve played against a couple of different eras. Who is the toughest player you’ve ever faced?
I think the toughest player individually that I played against that I had the opportunity to guard, you know, I’ve guarded Kobe [Bryant] on numerous on numerous occasions, Kobe, [Allen] Iverson, ‘Rant, LeBron [James], I mean everybody’s a tough guard. Russell Westbrook. It’s just the mentality on how you approach it, but I would say the most consistent standout for me throughout my career as far as in the beginning to the end for me is probably Tony Parker, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, those three kinda stand out just for me. Chauncey Billups. Players that I have to be ready, once they on the court, “okay, be ready or you gonna get embarrassed.” It’s definitely been a fun experience.

Speaking of those guys, you are now one of six active players left from the ‘90s. How does it feel to see guy you played with since the 90s hanging it up?
I can tell you first hand, all those guys are good people, and for me, kinda speaking for us, our dreams what was to try to make it to the NBA. Did we know it would happen? Probably not, but it was a dream and those guys are great guys. I’m just blessed to be able to share the experience with these great players and the best players, players that I look up to. It’s just a blessing because, who says things like “Your dreams can’t come true.” It’s been fun, I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve enjoyed the competition. And I guarantee you none of them don’t wanna stop. They wanna keep going, but they understand they’ve had the opportunity, and it’s the next generation up.

Why have you kept playing? What’s the motivation at your age?
I haven’t made a decision on whether I’ma keep playing or not. My body feels great, and like those other guys, we’ve been playing this game since we were little. That’s all we know. That’s all we’re used to doing. That’s our passion. Along with the love, it’s fun and it’s an activity. For me, I’m healthy, but at the same time, you wanna be respectful of the guys coming in and their dreams and goals and not be a distraction. For me, I would like to keep going, but there’s other entrants. You only get one life to live.

 

You just brought up people who are now living the dream, Karl Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram—which young player has the highest ceiling?
Wow. That’s a good one. That’s a good question. I don’t really know those guys. I had the experience to have been around Wiggins and Towns. I met Devin Booker. I think Karl-Anthony Towns, just because I’ve been around him and I see his mentality as a basketball player where he’s just going to take it to another level and he’s not going to let anybody stop him. And to have a guy like Kevin Garnett [as a] peer, for the amount of time I was there, just kinda helped him mold into a professional, that guy is gonna be a problem, staying healthy, for the next 15 years. I like his mentality on how he approaches basketball.

The NBA just changed the off-ball intentional foul rule. What are your thoughts about the rule change?
I think it’s a good rule. They gotta change the rules, because the players are going to figure out ways around them anyway, so let’s see how that plays out. Some of the things need change, but the NBA is doing a great job as far as involvement and making changes as the league and the players evolve.

You don’t know what your plan is for this year and beyond, but is there a perfect scenario where you are without a doubt on the court for at least next season?
You want the truth? [Laughs] I don’t know, man. There is no scenario. This is a great time for the young guys in the NBA when you talk money and contracts. I’d like to say that I’ve never played this game for money, but why would you stay when you can play six or seven months out of the year and make this money? Not saying I could sign a two or three-year deal for $30 or $40 million. I would always be playing for the veteran minimum, and that’s nothing compared to what the young guys playing are making. There really is no scenario. Like I said, you have one life to live. You see guys passing away like Sean Rooks, and these guys are in their mid-40s. I’m 40 years old. Nothing’s guaranteed in life, so basketball—I’m pretty much, probably 80, 90 percent sure I won’t play, but you never know. I might wake up saying “I wanna go play” because I enjoy and love the game.

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