Oliver J. Miller (born April 6, 1970) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was nicknamed "The Big O" because of his large size ( and well over throughout his pro career). Miller played college basketball at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...

and was drafted by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in 1992. After his initial stint in the NBA from 1992 to 1998, where he became the heaviest player in league history, Miller played overseas and for semi-professional American teams. He returned to the NBA for the 2003–04 season, but he transitioned back to minor-league and semi-professional play, and he retired from professional basketball in 2010.

Early life, family and education

Oliver Miller was born and raised in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, where he attended Southwest High School. He was a star athlete. He attended the

and played for its Razorbacks basketball team. He graduated in 1992.

Career

Miller was selected by the

with the 22nd overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft. He went on to play for various NBA teams over his eight-year career, including the Suns (1992–94, 1999–2000),

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

(1994–95),

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

(1995–96 and 1997–98),

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

(1996–97) and

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

(1998–99). He was signed by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

during the 2002 pre-season but was waived before the regular season began. Miller was known as a talented center with good passing skills, averaging 12.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.4 steals per game at his peak ( 1995–96). However, he was also notorious for his weight problems. In the beginning of his career, he was officially listed at , but in the later years of his NBA career he ballooned to , seriously reducing his mobility and stamina. Following his initial stint in the NBA, Miller moved overseas, joining

Iraklio BC Iraklio OAA B.C. ( Greek: Ηράκλειο OAA KAE), also known simply as Iraklio, or Heraklion, is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in the city of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, in Greece. It is a department of the ''Hera ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

for the 1998–99 season. However, in February 1999, he signed with the Kings to play in 4 games. He spent the next season back with the Suns, playing in 51 games. After the season, Miller became a bit of a basketball vagabond, joining the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

for the first of two stints with the team, then Pruszkow in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and back to the Globetrotters. In December 2001, after another brief term with the Globetrotters, Miller was released for showing "no appreciation for what it takes mentally and physically to be a Harlem Globetrotter." In January 2002 he signed with the

Roseto Sharks Roseto Sharks is an Italian professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Sh ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, but he did not play there. He then joined the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

with the

Gary Steelheads The Gary Steelheads were a professional basketball team. They played in the International Basketball League, Continental Basketball Association, and the United States Basketball League. They were based in Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lak ...

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

, before moving to the competing

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

's Southern California Surf and the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

Dodge City Legend The Dodge City Legend was a professional basketball franchise located in Dodge City, Kansas in the United States Basketball League, a minor league that played in the spring. The Legend won three USBL titles, in 2000, its first season, 2003 and in ...

. He returned to the Steelheads in October 2002, and was traded to the

Dakota Wizards The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now pl ...

in February 2003. He earned All-CBA Second Team honors with the Wizards at the end of the 2002–03 season. In the 2003–04 season, Miller made a comeback with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. Despite being listed at , he was still able to play an average of 10 minutes a game off the bench in his last NBA season. After a stint in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, Miller returned to the Wizards in October 2004 and next played with the

Texas Tycoons The Texas Tycoons were a team of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the World Basketball Association (WBA) based in Dallas. The team began play in the fall of 2004 based in Fort Worth. The Texas Tycoons played their 2007–08 season in ...

in the ABA until February 2005. He then played in 2005 for the

Arkansas RimRockers The Arkansas RimRockers were a minor league basketball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, which played in the American Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Season by season Franchise history The RimRockers began play ...

in the ABA. Miller was next signed to the

Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were th ...

of the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...

on March 15, 2010, but he was released in December.

Career after athletics

Miller reportedly relocated to

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communit ...

in August 2012 and was a car salesman, working for former basketball player Alvin Heggs. He has also spent time participating in basketball camps.

Honors and awards

Miller was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in September 2016 and was selected as an SEC Basketball Legend in January 2017.

Personal life

Miller has two sons and a daughter. In September 2020, Miller was reported to be retired and living in Phoenix, with a claimed weight of , spending his time participating in basketball camps and playing with his grandchildren.

Legal troubles

In April 2011, Miller was accused of pistol-whipping a man during an altercation at a barbecue cookout in Arnold, Maryland. He was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, possessing a handgun, using a handgun in a violent crime, possessing a handgun in a vehicle and disorderly conduct, among other charges. On November 1, 2011, Miller pleaded guilty in

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

to first-degree assault and possessing a handgun. He was sentenced on February 3, 2012 to a year in the Anne Arundel County jail (a five-year sentence with four years suspended), followed by five years of probation.

References

External links

Player profile
at NBA.com *

at HoopsHype.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Oliver 1970 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players American people convicted of assault American sportspeople convicted of crimes Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas Centers (basketball) Dakota Wizards (CBA) players Dallas Mavericks players Detroit Pistons players Harlem Globetrotters players Irakleio B.C. players Minnesota Timberwolves players MKS Znicz Basket Pruszków players Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Sacramento Kings players Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Toronto Raptors expansion draft picks Toronto Raptors players