Brad Miller
Years on Bulls 2000-2002 (then again in 2008-2010)
Stats: 10 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.5 bpg, 2.1 apg
My Bulls Memory: Bad Brad Miller or “Bad Miller” as my friends and I liked to call him (moreso in his second stint with the Bulls) is probably the most skilled guy on this list. My fondest memories of the lumbering big man was the awful headbands he always chose to wear and I swear that I remember he had a very blatant AND1 tattoo on his arm, but I couldn’t find a picture. If he didn’t, he was the kind of guy who would, anyways. So I’m going to choose to remember him that way.
The other thing I remember most about him is that he would NEVER stop talking. At the line shooting free throws, his mouth was moving. Sitting on the bench, flapping gums. Diving for a loose ball and I swear he was reciting poetry from memory. Either way, Brad Miller probably makes my list of all-time favorite Bulls in the years I’ve been actively watching them, or at least he’d make an honorary selection. He played with heart and was usually the biggest dog in the fight. Usually. More on that later.
But case in point: Brad missed two crucial free throws to seal the deal in game 5 of that 7-game playoff series with the Boston Celtics in 2009-10. He broke my heart. Then the dude returned in game 6 to post 23 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 9 shooting and helped the Bulls push the series to a game 7. A guy that never quits, truly.
Career Accomplishments: Brad Miller achieved NBA All-Star status (neither time with the Bulls) over his accomplished 14 season tenure in the NBA. He also famously went toe-to-toe (or…. heel-to-toe?) with Shaquille O’Neal during a game that meant next to nothing. God, I love hearing Johnny Red Kerr announce again, don’t you Bulls fans? Props to Charles “Oak Tree” Oakley for diving straight at the big lug at a moment’s notice. Gotta love that too. Those were the days. When people had imposing nick names and moxie.
Okay, back to Brad Miller. He made 8 appearances in the NBA playoffs with 4 different teams but never made it past the semifinals. When he was at Purdue, he was the only big man in the school’s history to lead the team in assists. He’s still renowned as a stellar passer from the big man position at both the college and NBA level, but he never averaged a ton of assists at the pro level. He might be one of the best left-handed players to ever play for the Bulls as well.
Where are they now? Bad Brad Miller is up to some big and bad things as you might expect. After his NBA career was over, he dedicated himself to another past time: the great outdoors. Brad Miller is one of those “good ol’ boys” you hear about and he’s living it up shooting animals with guns and taking pictures. Seriously. You can check it out here on his Instagram page. Aside from that, it’s also well known that he started his own cannabis manufacturing facility in Kern County, CA in 2018. Brad was suspended once during his NBA career for using the substance, which he claimed helped him reduce stress and sleep better.