Today is Day 24 of the Omer. Tif’eret sheb’netzach. Within endurance, there is beauty.

Andre Miller first came on my radar as the point guard for the University of Utah basketball team, led by Keith Van Horn in 1995. In 1998, with Van Horn gone, he led the Runnin’ Utes to an upset of the defending champion Arizona Wildcats in the Elite 8 with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists. In the Final Four, he had 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists as Utah defeated a UNC team led by Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, before Utah lost in the NCAA Championship game to Kentucky.

Miller was an All-American in college, but he never made an All-Star team in the NBa. While he doesn’t possess the NBA accolades of some other choices On The Mystical Shape of the Hoophead, he epitomizes Day 24, tif’eret sheb’netzah. During the week of netzach (endurance), we are celebrating one of the most durable players in the NBA. In his 17 year career, Miller missed only 3 games due to injury and at one point played in an impressive 632 consecutive games.

Miller currently ranks eleventh all-time in NBA career assists and according to Wikipedia, he is “the only player in NBA history to have at least 16,000 career points, 8,000 assists and 1,500 steals without making an NBA All-Star Game.”

His ability to score, dribble, pass, and rebound manifested in a balanced old-man game. While he could dunk, and put up big scoring numbers, it was his tight handle and beautiful passes that make him the choice for the 3rd day this week, the day of tif’eret (beauty). 

In my opinion, nobody has made a suitable highlight video of his all-around dribbling and passing ability, but if you like lobs, here are lobs for days.