Darius Tiyon Miller (born March 21, 1990) 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 (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

and finished his senior season by winning the

2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I men's College basketball, basketbal ...

on the 2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats team.

High school career

Miller attended Mason County High School, where he averaged 19.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game and led the team to a state championship in 2008. After his senior season in high school, Miller was named the

KHSAA The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky's List of high schools in Kentucky, high school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington. Sports The o ...

's men's basketball player of the year, commonly known as " Kentucky Mr. Basketball". Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Miller was listed as the No. 8 small forward and the No. 42 player in the nation in 2008.

College career

Following Kentucky's 2012 national championship win, Miller was chosen to present a commemorative Kentucky jersey and championship ring to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

during the team's visit to the White House on May 4, 2012. Miller is the only player from Kentucky to have been named Kentucky's "Mr. Basketball" (high school player of the year in the state), win a KHSAA state championship (Mason County High School) and claim an NCAA title with the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. Miller finished his college career having played more games for the University of Kentucky than any other player. The Wildcats' championship game and Miller's last collegiate match was his 152nd appearance for the team, surpassing Wayne Turner's previous record of 151 games. He and Deon Thompson of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

are currently tied for sixth place in career games in NCAA Division I men's play, and have the most games among those who played in exactly four seasons.

Professional career

New Orleans Hornets / Pelicans (2012–2014)

Miller was selected with the 46th overall pick in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

by the New Orleans Hornets. On August 22, 2012, he signed a multi-year deal with the Hornets. On December 31, 2012, Miller was assigned to the Iowa Energy. On January 27, 2013, he was recalled by the Hornets. In April 2013, the Hornets were renamed the Pelicans. On July 25, 2014, Miller re-signed with the Pelicans. On November 30, 2014, he was waived by the Pelicans. On January 16, 2015, Miller was opted over another D-League player for a position on the Clippers.

Brose Bamberg (2015–2017)

On February 24, 2015, Miller signed with

Brose Bamberg Bamberg Baskets is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia/North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup six times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketball ...

of Germany for the rest of the 2014–15 season. On July 28, 2015, he re-signed with Brose Baskets for one more season. On June 7, 2016, he signed a two-year contract extension with Bamberg. On July 19, 2017, he parted ways with Bamberg in order to return to the NBA.

Return to the Pelicans (2017–2020)

On July 27, 2017, Miller signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, returning to the franchise for a second stint. On November 13, 2017, he scored a career-high 21 points in a 106–105 win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. On December 31, 2018, Miller scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter of the Pelicans' 123–114 win over the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. On January 24, 2019, he matched a career high with 21 points in a 122–116 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. On July 3, 2019, after becoming a free agent, he signed a two-year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. On August 29, 2019, the Pelicans announced that Miller would be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2021)

On November 24, 2020, Miller was traded to the

. On April 8, 2021, he was waived by the Thunder after 18 appearances.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 52 , , 2 , , 13.3 , , .407 , , .393 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 45 , , 7 , , 16.1 , , .440 , , .325 , , .806 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 1 , , 8.6 , , .143 , , .000 , , .000 , , .2 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , .4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 3 , , 23.7 , , .444 , , .411 , , .866 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , 15 , , 25.5 , , .390 , , .365 , , .789 , , 1.9 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .458 , , .405 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , 4.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 271 , , 28 , , 19.8 , , .419 , , .383 , , .840 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .412 , , .375 , , 1.000 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 4.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 9 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .412 , , .375 , , 1.000 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 4.8

National team career

Miller represented the U-19 United States national team at the 2009 U-19 World Championship held in New Zealand, where they won the gold medal.

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Darius 1990 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Bamberg Baskets players Iowa Energy players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Mason County High School alumni New Orleans Hornets draft picks New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans players Oklahoma City Thunder players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Maysville, Kentucky Small forwards 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen