Oliver J. Miller (April 6, 1970 - March 12, 2025) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) and often weighing over 300 lb (136 kg), he was nicknamed "the Big O" because of his large size. Miller played college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 1992 NBA draft. Miller was known as a talented center with good passing skills.
Early Life and College Career
Born on April 6, 1970, Oliver J. Miller was raised in Fort Worth, where he was a star athlete for the Raiders at Southwest High School. Southwest High School basketball player Oliver Miller Jr. signed a letter of intent in April of 1988, to attend the University of Arkansas. With him are Southwest coach James Wood, his father Oliver Miller Sr. and mother Annie Miller.
He signed with the University of Arkansas and played for its Razorbacks basketball team under head coach Nolan Richardson. During his four years at Arkansas, the Razorbacks had one of the most prestigious basketball programs in the country. In that four-year span, Arkansas posted an impressive 115-24 record for a staggering 82.8 winning percentage. Miller, who graduated from Southwest High School in 1988, was at the forefront of that massive winning run by the Razorbacks, along with teammates Todd Day and Lee Mayberry. Their efforts helped Arkansas to a pair of second-round appearances in the NCAA tournament, a trip to the Final Four in 1990 and a berth in the Elite Eight in 1991.
Miller played for teams that won the Southwest Conference regular season championship and the SWC Tournament championship three consecutive years from 1989 to 1991. The 1990 Arkansas team also made it to the Final Four. Miller was named the SWC Player of the Year by league coaches, and was the SWC Tournament MVP, in 1991. His senior season, Arkansas moved to the Southeastern Conference, and Miller helped the team win the SEC West Division championship and the SEC overall regular season title in their inaugural year in the conference.
During his four years at Arkansas, the Razorbacks posted a record of 115-24. Miller still holds the school record for career blocked shots and highest scoring percentage. He graduated from the university in 1992. Miller is considered one of the best players in school history.
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“When people came to see us, they didn’t come to see any individuals,’’ Miller told the Star-Telegram in 2016 when he was inducted into the Razorbacks Hall of Fame. “They came to see the Razorbacks."
NBA Career
The Phoenix Suns then selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.
Miller was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 22nd overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft. He played for six NBA teams during his career, including the Suns (1992-94, 1999-2000), the Detroit Pistons (1994-95), the Toronto Raptors (1995-96 and 1997-98), the Dallas Mavericks (1996-97), the Sacramento Kings (1998-99), and the Minnesota Timberwolves (2003-04). He was signed by the Indiana Pacers during the 2002 preseason, but was waived before the regular season began. Chosen by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 expansion draft, Miller played for the Raptors during the franchise's first NBA season (1995-96).
In 493 NBA games, he averaged 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.
During his rookie season, Miller earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 1993. That season, the center would be an NBA finalist with the Phoenix franchise, losing to Michael Jordan's Bulls in the battle for the ring. In his team changes, he was part of the Raptors' first team, which made its debut in the competition in 1995.
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Notoriety for Weight Issues
His weight, sometimes more than 350 pounds, created as much of attention for him as his play on the court. Standing at 6-foot-9 and weighing over 300 pounds during his playing days, Miller was one of the heaviest players in NBA history.
The most intriguing Story of O-Oliver Miller, the Detroit Pistons' new big man and the self-styled Big O-is the scale tale from his rookie year with the Phoenix Suns. As it is often told late at night around NBA juice bars, Miller had weighed about 290 pounds on the Suns' old scale, but then the team invested in a new, top-of-the-line model. When Miller returned from a road trip and stepped onto the new scale-Holy Toledo! Three-two-three!-Sun management suspected that Miller must have somehow been cheating the old scale. "The story I heard was he'd been standing on his toes," a Piston front-office man confides. Big O was wounded when the slander was repeated. "Isn't that ridiculous?" Miller says. "How am I gonna trick a scale?"
Miller insists the Suns hung him out to dry-see Oliver twist-while letting Charles Barkley carry on with impunity. (Imagine! A double standard for a future Hall of Famer.)
The Big O had checked into food rehab after the scale incident and lost 40 pounds, but Piston coach Don Chaney says he won't hector Miller. The Big O played the preseason in the 290's, and his body-fat percentage was 15.5, down from 18.5 at the start of camp.
Talents
Blessed with soft hands and quick feet, he was an outstanding athlete. Miller has soft hands, passes well-he increased his assist average from 2.1 in his rookie year to 3.5 last season-and is remarkably nimble when he's below 300 pounds.
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"I've always been athletic for my size," Miller says. "Me and my cousins would go to the country, to my grandma's in Teague, Texas, and we'd have our own Olympics. Hundred-yard dash. Hurdle old tires. My cousins were smaller than me, but I'd catch 'em." Miller hopes his next Olympics is indoors in '96. "They've already used up Alonzo [Mourning], Dave [Robinson], all the really great centers," Miller says. "They should be getting around to me for Dream Team III." Why not?
Post-NBA Career
Following his initial stint in the NBA, Miller moved overseas, joining Iraklio BC in Greece for the 1998-99 season. However, in February 1999, he signed with the Kings to play in four games. He spent the next season back with the Suns, playing in 51 games.
After the season, Miller became a bit of a basketball vagabond, joining the Harlem Globetrotters for the first of two stints with the team, then Pruszkow in Poland and back to the Globetrotters. In December 2001, after another brief term with the Globetrotters, Miller was released for showing "no appreciation for what it takes mentally and physically to be a Harlem Globetrotter." In January 2002 he signed with the Roseto Sharks in Italy, but he did not play there.
He then joined the Continental Basketball Association with the Gary Steelheads in Gary, Indiana, before moving to the competing American Basketball Association's Southern California Surf and the USBL's Dodge City Legend. He returned to the Steelheads in October 2002, and was traded to the Dakota Wizards in February 2003.
In the 2003-04 season, Miller made a comeback with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite being listed at 315 lb (143 kg), he was still able to play an average of 10 minutes a game off the bench in his last NBA season. After a stint in Puerto Rico, Miller returned to the Wizards in October 2004 and next played with the Texas Tycoons in the ABA until February 2005. He then played in 2005 for the Arkansas RimRockers in the ABA.
Finally, he retired in 2010.
Personal Life and Challenges
Legal Issues
In April 2011, Miller was accused of pistol-whipping a man during an altercation at a barbecue cookout in Arnold, Maryland.
Still…"I just don't understand how they can say I'm a bad character," Miller says. "If Jesus himself walked into Phoenix again, the people would probably crucify him or throw him in a dungeon."
Weight Loss Journey
His weight had been a lifelong challenge, one that followed him throughout his NBA career. “I got tired of seeing myself in the mirror and seeing slop,” Miller said as per Fox Sports. Every team he played for kept tabs on his weight, making him step on the scale daily and questioning his every meal. “Always making me weigh in every single day, saying you can’t eat that, why are you eating that.” The constant pressure only added to his struggles.
And then, there was the ridicule from opposing fans. Miller became an easy target, facing taunts that went beyond the court. “Big O, do you want a cheeseburger? Yeah, hold the pickles,” he recalled. But the jokes didn’t stop with fans-after he signed with the Kings, even his old friend, the Suns’ Gorilla mascot, got in on it. A video from the time showed the mascot in an oversized Miller jersey, playing up the weight jokes for the crowd.
“I was friends with him,” Miller said, understanding that the league was a business. But while he could brush it off, his family couldn’t. “The thing that bothered me was my kids-they were at the game. They were more hurt than I was.” Watching their father be mocked in front of thousands was something they couldn’t just laugh away.
Back in 2018, Miller faced yet another wake-up call-a blood clot in his lung landed him in the hospital. With a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure, he knew it was time for a change. This time, it wasn’t about basketball or public perception. It was about his life.
Change didn’t happen overnight. It took a long, hard look in the mirror for Oliver Miller to decide it was time. “Once you see yourself in the mirror and you get tired of looking at what you are looking at, then it’s up to you to make the change,” he said. So, he did. He cleaned up his diet and made walking a daily routine. “I walk 30, 35 minutes. Sometimes I go an hour and 15, depending on how I feel.”
Still, the road wasn’t always easy. Old habits were hard to break. “I still have a weakness for French fries,” Miller admitted. But the effort paid off-he dropped about 60 pounds and even fit into his rookie Suns jersey again. “I use my NBA jerseys as motivation,” he shared. Yet, for Miller, it wasn’t just about his own journey. He wanted to help others find their path to a healthier life, too.
That’s why he made himself available to anyone who needed guidance. “I am available. If you need me to come out and speak for motivation or anything and I’m available,” he said. His message was simple but powerful: “I’m always saying to be better, you have to do better, so why not.”