Longtime NBA center Oliver Miller has sadly passed away at the far-too-young age of 54, per the National Basketball Retired Players Association (Twitter link).
No official cause of death has been revealed. Miller had tweeted late last month that he was suffering from cancer.
Miller was selected with the No. 22 overall pick out of Arkansas by the Suns in 1992. As a rookie, he became a critical bench player during MVP Charles Barkley‘s inaugural season in Phoenix, when the club advanced to the 1993 NBA Finals. The team lost in six games to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen‘s Bulls, who were capping off their first three-peat.
Across a nine-season NBA career, Miller suited up for the Pistons, Raptors, Mavericks, and Kings, before returning to Phoenix for the 1999/2000 season. In his 493 career NBA regular season contests, the 6’9″ pro logged averages of 7.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
He later enjoyed stints in Greece and Poland, then with the USBL and the CBA. Miller returned to the NBA, briefly, for the 2003/04 season, where he suited up for the Western Conference Finals-bound Timberwolves.
Hoops Rumors sends its deepest condolences to Miller’s family and friends.