Bold Statement: Klay Thompson might be a better player than Reggie Miller

[Derka]

Except Reggie was the best player on his team and they were made it to the ECFs and Finals when the east had good teams. Klay has a lot to prove in the playoffs.

And boom goes the dynamite. Repped.

[Milbuck]

Dude is putting up 22/3/3/1/1 on 46/44/88 shooting, with terrific defense. On the best team in the league..although as a second option. And he's 25. Considering he doesn't rely on his athleticism, it's entirely possible he keeps improving for another 4-5 years. Reggie is better than current Klay but Klay has all the potential to pass him up at least as an individual player in the half decade or so. Legacy-wise it's gonna be tough to outshine Reggie's clutch moments.

[pauk]

If you watched prime Reggie & was aware of his character you would know he is one of those few guys in NBA history where "stats tell a lie".... the guy was an evil TROLL, especially in the regular season, i mean he would often deliberately coast / keep the games close there just to make it seem like you have a chance and then go ham in the 4th quarter / clutch and laugh at you or give you the "choke sign"...... he was a pure troll.... everybody hated him & he loved it...

Reggie averaged 18 ppg for his career, but most of it would come in the 4th quarter / clutch..... and 2-3 points of that was of gamewinners

...and i dont know how this works, but it works, Reggie really somehow upped his game dramatically under difficult scrutiny/boos/crap from players/fans etc... he would turn into a superstar and/or best player in the game...

Klay is a better defender & looks identical statistically, but it is arbitrary, he is more comparable to Allan Houston or something, he doesnt possess the on-demand legendary specific intangibles & killer instinct Reggie did to impact.... Reggie was the GOAT what he called "mind warfare" guy aswell, he would trashtalk & get into your skin (anybodies skin, even Michael Jordan) and make you CHOKE/underperform, meanwhile firing him up to play even better.... shit like that doesnt show up on the statsheet, but affects the game.... its that eye-test thing and you have to wait until playoffs / the toughest stages aswell....

Reggie was not a chucker / selfish either, he was a team player who initiated "takeover/assassin mode" when very necessary (in the 4th). If he was he would easily averaged ~30 ppg at some point in his career..... The highest amount of FGA Reggie ever took was 29 and there he scored 57 points..........

You really have to go into context when evaluating Reggie Miller....... if you dont, then all you see is his statsheet.... where you go "Meh, why is this guy a Hall of Famer? Why is he so overrated? WTF? Even Klay Thompson might be better" ....

[sportjames23]

possibly

reggie was more clutch though


jordans competition was pretty weak at the 2guard spot

And yet, MJ was still better than any 2guard from Kobe's era, including Kobe.

[ILLsmak]

the guy was an evil TROLL

-Smak

[Im so nba'd out]

Klay Thompson better than reggie miller

- Ayotunde Ndiaye

[ZMonkey11]

Let's not forget Reggie's trash talk game was elite level. Guy definitely took people out of their game.

[pauk]

-Smak

Its true tho, like that 8 pts in 8 sec game for example, he was HORRIBLE that entire game, completely invisible, all Pacers had their head down, Knicks were high fiving & congratulating eachother on the clear win, Fans were walking & emptying out the arena.... but during that game he was trashtalking, telling them how they will choke & bla bla.... like seriously Reggie? Did you see the boxscore? At the end of that game before that 8 pts in 8 sec Reggie was the only one standing there midcourt like .... like he knew what was gona happen....

Dude was a pure troll... he loved these moments, to a point where he deliberately wanted them to happen, he was that confident in his ability at the end of the game, the tougher it got mentally the better he got.... easily the greatest clutch shooter/player i ever seen....

For 18 years sraight Reggie was the go-to-guy in the clutch and he made sure everybody knew he wanted the ball, even if Jordan played with him, he wanted to take those shots, he would let Jordan know, its MY TIME... every single game he made a clutch shot win or lose.... i wouldnt be surprised (and you shouldnt either) if he has hit the most gamewinners in NBA history, i personally have seen/remember 20 or so gamewinners from him, just in the 90s....

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Its true tho, like that 8 pts in 8 sec game for example, he was HORRIBLE that entire game, completely invisible, all Pacers had their head down, Knicks were high fiving & congratulating eachother on the clear win, Fans were walking & emptying out the arena.... but during that game he was trashtalking, telling them how they will choke & bla bla.... like seriously Reggie? Did you see the boxscore? At the end of that game before that 8 pts in 8 sec Reggie was the only one standing there midcourt like .... like he knew what was gona happen....

Dude was a pure troll... he loved these moments, to a point where he deliberately wanted them to happen, he was that confident in his ability at the end of the game, the tougher it got mentally the better he got.... easily the greatest clutch shooter/player i ever seen....

For 18 years sraight Reggie was the go-to-guy in the clutch and he made sure everybody knew he wanted the ball, even if Jordan played with him, he wanted to take those shots, he would let Jordan know, its MY TIME... every single game he made a clutch shot win or lose.... i wouldnt be surprised (and you shouldnt either) if he has hit the most gamewinners in NBA history, i personally have seen/remember 20 or so gamewinners from him, just in the 90s....

It's not even about the clutch, although, that's one of the better reasons. Dude raised his game in the playoffs like very few have.

Postseason scoring runs of:
27ppg on 58/63/80
32ppg on 53/53/90
26ppg on 48/42/86
24ppg on 45/40/94
31ppg on 46/43/90
24ppg on 51/42/88

Just remarkable efficiency and a legit shooting weapon come the postseason. He ****ed up a lot of gameplans.

A little OT, but I always thought Reggie retired a little too soon. Even now, there's spot-up shooters in the league probably no faster than Miller nor are they any better on defense than he would be, and you know they're not shooting any better (some making a nice living as NBA backups). To put it in another way, if Reggie had a new fake name and birth certificate, I bet he could play his way onto an NBA roster right now.

[GOBB]

It's not even about the clutch, although, that's one of the better reasons. Dude raised his game in the playoffs like very few have.

Postseason scoring runs of:
27ppg on 58/63/80
32ppg on 53/53/90
26ppg on 48/42/86
24ppg on 45/40/94
31ppg on 46/43/90
24ppg on 51/42/88

Just remarkable efficiency and a legit shooting weapon come the postseason. He ****ed up a lot of gameplans.

A little OT, but I always thought Reggie retired a little too soon. Even now, there's spot-up shooters in the league probably no faster than Miller nor are they any better on defense than he would be, and you know they're not shooting any better (some making a nice living as NBA backups). To put it in another way, if Reggie had a new fake name and birth certificate, I bet he could play his way onto an NBA roster right now.

He was 39.

[SugarHill]

He was 39.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

He was 39.

His last game, against one of the best defenses of the modern era, guy had 27 points on a ridiculous 70% shooting.

Guess my point is, Reggie had at least a few more productive seasons in him.

[chazzy]

If you watched prime Reggie & was aware of his character you would know he is one of those few guys in NBA history where "stats tell a lie".... the guy was an evil TROLL, especially in the regular season, i mean he would often deliberately coast / keep the games close there just to make it seem like you have a chance and then go ham in the 4th quarter / clutch and laugh at you or give you the "choke sign"...... he was a pure troll.... everybody hated him & he loved it...

Reggie averaged 18 ppg for his career, but most of it would come in the 4th quarter / clutch..... and 2-3 points of that was of gamewinners

...and i dont know how this works, but it works, Reggie really somehow upped his game dramatically under difficult scrutiny/boos/crap from players/fans etc... he would turn into a superstar and/or best player in the game...

Klay is a better defender & looks identical statistically, but it is arbitrary, he is more comparable to Allan Houston or something, he doesnt possess the on-demand legendary specific intangibles & killer instinct Reggie did to impact.... Reggie was the GOAT what he called "mind warfare" guy aswell, he would trashtalk & get into your skin (anybodies skin, even Michael Jordan) and make you CHOKE/underperform, meanwhile firing him up to play even better.... shit like that doesnt show up on the statsheet, but affects the game.... its that eye-test thing and you have to wait until playoffs / the toughest stages aswell....

This post reads like a cookie cutter Kobe stan post.. throwing out stats and using "killer instinct" and "eye test"

[IncarceratedBob]

Skill wise klay is already better. Talent wise tho Reggie got him

[3ball]

Claiming Klay is as good or better than prime Reggie isn't much of a stretch.

You guys are underrating how much better Reggie became in the playoffs.

There's a reason he was able to lead a team to the Finals as the #1 option against the toughest defenses, while Ray Allen couldn't come anywhere close:

Playoff Averages

MILLER: 20.6 PPG, 60.1% TS, 119 ORtg, 19.5 PER
ALLEN:. 16.1 PPG, 58.5% TS, 115 ORtg, 16.3 PER
KLAY:... 15.6 PPG, 52.1% TS, 106 ORtg, 10.8 PER

Plus Reggie had far better clutch performance than Ray or Klay is capable of.. Klay's got a LONG way to go - he hasn't shown he can do shit in the playoffs.
.