"My brother 4L" - LeBron James gives a shout out to former Miami Heat teammate Mike Miller on his Instagram story
LeBron James has played with a lot of players during his 19-year NBA career. James has played for three teams in his career so far: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and LA Lakers. One of his teammates in Cleveland and Miami is former Rookie of the Year Mike Miller.
In a story on his official Instagram page, LeBron gave Miller a shoutout after someone tweeted about his famous shoeless game back in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. James called Miller a killer on the basketball court and a brother for life.
"KILLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAA @MIKEMILLER BROTHER 4L"
LeBron shared a post about Mike Miller playing with one shoe on in the 2013 NBA Finals. #NBAAllStar #LeBronJames👑 https://t.co/vxlvqnLkXB
Mike Miller lost his shoe in the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. The Heat were down by seven, but a shoeless Miller hit a three to cut the lead to four. It was an important shot because of what happened later in the game.
LeBron James and the Heat rallied to force the game into overtime, with Ray Allen hitting the game-tying three-point shot. Miami would win the game, forcing a Game 7 against the Spurs. LeBron played one of his greatest games to help the Heat win back-to-back NBA championships.
Mike Miller casually draining a 3 in the NBA Finals with one shoe on.
@SLAMKicks 👟 https://t.co/eQVAC13T7r
LeBron James and Mike Miller have been friends for a long time
LeBron James and Mike Miller were friends even before "The King" made his NBA debut. The two became close when Miller watched James play in a high school basketball game, per Grantland. Miller was also friends with Maverick Carter, who is LeBron James' business manager.
James and Miller became even closer during the qualifiers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics as they were teammates with Team USA. Miller, who won the 2001 Rookie of the Year and 2006 Sixth Man of the Year, was one of the Miami Heat's free agent signings along with LeBron James in 2010.
Mike Miller has been wearing LeBron James's warmup shirt throughout the postseason trib.al/b6pqACe http://t.co/PeiB85J7ok
Miller was a big part of that Heat dynasty that went to the NBA Finals four straight times, winning two of them. James, obviously, is the most important player of those championship teams, but he was surrounded by players like Miller that made the game easier.
The Heat amnestied Miller after winning back-to-back NBA championships. James would later recruit him when he returned to Cleveland in 2014. They reached the NBA Finals once again, but they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Now, James is in his 19th season in the NBA and showing no signs of slowing down. On the other hand, Miller was an assistant coach for the Memphis Tigers from 2018 to 2020 before becoming a high school coach in Germantown, Tennessee.