Oliver Miller helped Arkansas reach the 1990 Final Four and was a member of the Raptors' inaugural team in the 1995-96 season. (Tim DeFrisco/Getty Images)
Oliver Miller, a former NBA player known for an impressive skill set packaged in an unusual physique, died at 54, according to the University of Arkansas.
Miller played from 1988 to 1992 at Arkansas, which said last month that he was suffering from cancer. It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether that was the direct cause of his death.
A 6-foot-9 forward officially listed at 315 pounds but thought during his playing days to have frequently weighed significantly more, Miller starred at Arkansas before a nine-year NBA career that featured stints with the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves. He helped the Suns reach the 1993 NBA Finals and joined the expansion Raptors for their inaugural season of 1995-96.
At Arkansas, Miller helped the Razorbacks reach the 1990 Final Four, and the program won 115 games over his four seasons. Having been selected in November for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, his induction is scheduled to take place next month.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Arkansas legend Oliver Miller,” the Razorbacks said in a statement. “A key member of the 1990 Final Four team, an SWC Hall of Famer, a first round NBA draft pick and a true embodiment of the Razorback spirit. We love you Big O. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Miller was unable to attend a reunion of the 1989-90 team held last month in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Several days after that event, he shared video of a tribute to him that played at the event and wrote: “Means a lot. Still [in] tears.”
Means alot. Still n tears. #WPS pic.twitter.com/14BxB5LcLG
— Oliver Miller (@Omiller03) February 27, 2025
A native of Fort Worth, Miller remains the Razorbacks’ career leader in blocked shots (345), and he ranks third in rebounds (886) and ninth in points (1,674). He also dished out 296 assists, reflecting a penchant for playmaking that would continue into his NBA career.
Miller was selected 22nd in the 1992 draft and joined a Phoenix team that had just added a perennial all-star in Charles Barkley. Miller formed a notable on-court pairing with Barkley, given that both possessed relatively rotund physiques belying their nimble athletic traits and shooting touch. Over 24 games in the 1993 playoffs as Phoenix reached the Finals and tested Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in a rugged, six-game series, Miller average more than 22 minutes and hit double-figures in points eight times, with eight outings of seven-plus rebounds.
After two seasons with the Suns and one with the Pistons, Miller enjoyed his best statistical season with the fledgling Raptors, averaging 12.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.4 steals in 1995-96. For his NBA career — not including three-plus years out of the league as he played overseas and in minor leagues before latching on with the 2003-04 Timberwolves — he averaged 7.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.5 blocks.
The Toronto Raptors are saddened to learn of the passing of Oliver Miller, who spent three seasons with our organization. He holds a special place in our history as a member of our inaugural team in 1995, and we are so grateful for all his contributions. We send our deepest… pic.twitter.com/h6lUpoA6Uh
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 12, 2025
Along the way, Miller heard plenty of teasing about his weight, both from fans and teammates. Barkley was reported to have told him during his rookie season, “You can’t even jump high enough to touch the rim, unless they put a Big Mac on it.” By many accounts, Miller took the ribbing well and was known to respond with his own verbal jabs. While with the Kings, though, in a game at Phoenix that saw the Suns’ mascot don an overstuffed Miller jersey, he found reason to take umbrage.
“I was friends with him,” Miller said in 2018 of the person who played the mascot. “I understand it’s a business, but the thing that bothered me was my kids they were at the game. They were more hurt than I was.”
Miller began shedding some of his weight late in his career, and he said in 2018 he had redoubled those efforts after seeing some contemporaries die.
“Once you see yourself in the mirror and you get tired of looking at what you are looking at,” he said at the time, “then it’s up to you to make the change.”
Miller was still playing professionally as late as 2010, when as a member of the Lawton-Fort Sill (Oklahoma) Cavalry of the Premier Basketball League, he was suspended for rushing into the stands after his coach was allegedly hit with a water bottle. In 2011, while living in Edgewater, Maryland, Miller was arrested for pistol-whipping a man at a cookout, and he was sentenced to serve one year of a five-year prison term.
After subsequently moving to the Phoenix area, Miller worked in automotive sales and helped coach youth basketball. In recent years, Miller shared posts on social media showing him looking relatively svelte while fishing, golfing and spending time with his family.
News of Miller’s death came one day after the basketball world was rocked by the death of 12-year NBA player Junior Bridgeman, who died at 71 after reportedly suffering a medical emergency during a fundraising event in his adopted hometown of Louisville.