Reggie Miller Finally Comes Clean About His Famous Shot Over Michael Jordan

For nearly three decades, Pacers fans have replayed one image over and over: Reggie Miller curling to the top of the key, catching the inbound pass, and burying a three over Michael Jordan with less than a second left in Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. It remains one of the defining moments of a career spent entirely in Indiana, and one of the signature shots of an era.

Now, Miller has added a footnote to the story. He pushed off.

In a recent conversation with Tyrese Haliburton shared by the Pacers, Miller addressed the question he's been asked for years about how he got so open against the greatest defender of his generation. His answer was refreshingly honest. He conceded that the separation came from contact, saying simply:

“People always say, ‘How did you create so much space on MJ?’ I was like, it was a foul, okay? It may have been a foul. Maybe. But they don’t call it at the end of games, so remember that," said Miller. "A lot of times they swallow their whistle because they don’t want to be the person to dictate the outcome of a game.”

Miller then offered a bit of veteran wisdom about late-game officiating. In his view, referees rarely blow the whistle in the final seconds because no official wants to be remembered as the one who decided the outcome. He knew that, and he used it.

The replay backs him up. As Miller comes off the screen, he extends both arms into Jordan's chest and creates just enough room to rise up cleanly. With the game on the line in front of a raucous Indianapolis crowd, Jordan wasn't getting that call, and Miller understood the unwritten rules better than almost anyone.

A Shot That Nearly Didn't Hold Up

The moment is often remembered as a pure triumph, but it came with plenty of drama afterward. Jordan got one last look on the other end, and his potential game-winner rattled in and out. Had it dropped, Miller's shot would be a trivia answer instead of a highlight staple.

Instead, Indiana evened the series at 2-2 and pushed the eventual champion Bulls all the way to seven games. The Pacers fell in Game 7 in Chicago, missing out on what would have been the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance.

Miller got there two years later, leading Indiana to the 2000 Finals, where the Pacers lost to Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in six games. It would take a quarter century for the franchise to return.

Haliburton Chasing His Own Legacy

That return came in 2025, and it was Haliburton who carried the Pacers back to the sport's biggest stage. His postseason run was one of the most remarkable clutch displays the league has seen, with dramatic late-game shots in every round of the playoffs. Even Miller, whose reputation was built on fourth-quarter heroics, never strung together a run quite like it.

The story ended in heartbreak. Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals, and Indiana came up one win short of its first championship.

The injury cost him all of last season, and the Pacers felt his absence badly. Without their floor general, Indiana finished with the third-worst offensive rating in the league, a stunning drop for a team that had been among the most dangerous attacks in basketball.

Now healthy, Haliburton has made it clear he isn't content to simply match Miller's highlight reel. He wants to build one of his own that surpasses it. The Pacers have given him more help to do it, adding Ivica Zubac to the starting lineup, a meaningful upgrade in the frontcourt compared to what they had a year ago.

The expectation inside the organization is that the offense will bounce back into the league's top 10 with Haliburton running the show again. If the core can stay healthy into the spring, Indiana has a real shot at getting back to the Finals, and Haliburton will have another chance to create the kind of moments Pacers fans will still be talking about 30 years from now. Whether he'll admit to a push-off or two along the way is another matter.