Here's the story behind the Reggie Miller-Steve Alford reference in 'Stranger Things'
Should the Pacers have drafted Steve Alford over Miller in 1987? One character in the Indiana-based Netflix series thinks so.
The hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” is known for including cultural references to the show’s 1980s setting in the fictional town of Hawkins, Ind. Season 5, which debuted on the streaming app in November, takes place in 1987 and contains several nods to subjects that residents of the Hoosier State would have been likely to discuss that year.
One of those subjects was the NBA debut of the Indiana Pacers’ first-round pick in the 1987 draft: Reggie Miller. The Pacers selected Miller out of UCLA with the 11th overall pick that year, passing on Indiana hoops icon Steve Alford, who went to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.
Alford, who grew up in New Castle, Ind., and won the state’s Mr. Basketball award as a high school senior, went on to play four years under Bob Knight at Indiana University. The point guard made first-team All-America in his junior and senior seasons in Bloomington, won a gold medal with the Knight-coached U.S. Olympic team in 1984, and led the Hoosiers to the 1987 NCAA championship.
And in the Stranger Things universe, some residents of Hawkins couldn’t believe the Pacers would pass up a chance to draft the home-state hero.
In the seventh episode of Season 5, a pair of soldiers are shown debating the pick after Miller’s first game with the Pacers. “You’re telling me Alford wouldn’t have doubled that score?” one soldier says.
“Four-of-6 from the field!” the other replies, apparently impressed with Miller’s efficiency. “Reggie’s gonna be something special. You mark my words.”
That episode takes place on Nov. 6, 1987, the actual date of Miller’s NBA debut. The shooting numbers are also correct — Miller scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, with one rebound, two assists and three steals in 26 minutes off the bench in the Pacers’ 108-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Alford also played his first pro game on that night, although his six-point, five-assist effort for the Mavs is not referenced in the episode.
As NBA fans know well, the character who believed in Miller turned out to be right. The Pacers shooting guard would spend 18 years with the franchise before retiring as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made. Miller scored 25,279 points and made five All-Star teams and three All-NBA selections in his Hall of Fame career. In 2021, Miller was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Miller, who led the Pacers to six Eastern Conference Finals appearances and one finals appearance in 2000, is known as one of the greatest clutch performers in NBA history.
Meanwhile, Alford played four years in the league with the Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, averaging 4.4 points per game for his career. After retiring as a player, he returned to the college game as a coach, with notable stints at Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico and Miller’s alma mater, UCLA. He has been head coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack since 2019.