Mike Miller was one of the heartbeats of the Nuggets team.
Every morning on the bus to shootaround, he’d greet everyone. During adverse times in games he’d keep the mood as upbeat as possible. If a player had a rough game, Miller would be a sounding board to bounce frustrations off of.
He didn’t spend a ton of time on the court, but in many respects Miller’s role was as important as any 20-point scorer.
Returning to the Nuggets for a second-straight season, Miller was part coach, part player. He seemingly was smiling all the time, and was instrumental in starting the 3-on-3 games a couple hours prior to regular season contests for players that weren’t expecting to see much, if any, time that night.