In the world of sports, hierarchies are usually set in stone. Legends retire, statues are built, and the new generation fights for scraps of recognition in the shadow of the greats. But on a recent NBC broadcast, we witnessed a tectonic shift that defied all tradition. Reggie Miller, the man who built the Indiana Pacers, the sharpshooter who broke hearts at Madison Square Garden for a decade, looked into the camera and effectively handed over the keys to the city.
The List That Shook the State
The moment didn’t happen during a heated debate or a highlight reel. It happened when Miller was asked to rank the best shooters currently residing in the basketball-crazed state of Indiana. A typical answer would be for the Hall of Famer to back himself (even in retirement) or point to Tyrese Haliburton, the current face of the Pacers and an NBA All-Star commanding a max contract.
Instead, Miller dropped a bombshell. His ranking?
Caitlin Clark
Tyrese Haliburton
Reggie Miller
“It goes Caitlin, Tyrese, and now myself,” Miller declared.
This isn’t just a compliment; it is a coronation. By placing a WNBA player who has just finished her rookie season above an active NBA superstar and himself, Miller is validating the “Caitlin Clark Effect” in the most profound way possible. He is telling Haliburton, “Listen, young fella, you are great, but she is the chosen one.”
The Haliburton Factor
For Tyrese Haliburton, this is a fascinating, if slightly bruising, development. Imagine being the franchise player, the guy leading the league in assists, revolutionizing your team’s offense, and then hearing your own team’s greatest legend say the player down the street at Gainbridge Field has a better stroke than you.
But this likely isn’t meant as malice. It’s the spark of a new, friendly rivalry that could define Indiana sports for the next decade. Haliburton is a competitor. Reggie just threw down the gauntlet. Now, every time Tyrese steps onto the court, he isn’t just playing for wins; he’s shooting to prove he belongs in the same conversation as Clark. It flips the traditional gender dynamics of sports on their head: the NBA star is now the one chasing the ghost of the WNBA player’s jumper.
“The Product” Speaks
While Reggie’s admission grabbed the headlines, Caitlin Clark’s own words during the broadcast might have been even more significant for the future of women’s basketball. When the topic of the WNBA’s exploding popularity and looming labor negotiations came up, Clark didn’t retreat into media-trained platitudes.
“We are in this moment because of the product we put on the floor,” she stated calmly.
Stop and listen to the phrasing. The product. Clark is looking the WNBA commissioners and owners in the eye and reminding them of the cold, hard economic truth: She is the business. The charter flights, the national TV slots, the sold-out arenas—they aren’t the result of boardroom strategy. They are happening because she puts the ball in the hoop from 40 feet, and people pay to see it.
This is a level of player empowerment rarely seen so early in a career. It echoes the early days of LeBron James realizing he was bigger than the system. Clark is signaling that she understands her leverage perfectly. She is the engine, and she expects to be treated—and paid—accordingly.
Dominating the Studio
Beyond the heavy quotes, Clark’s presence on the NBC panel was a revelation. She didn’t shrink next to legends like Carmelo Anthony or Reggie Miller. She expanded to fill the space. In a segment where she played H-O-R-S-E with Jamal Crawford—one of the craftiest ball-handlers in history—Clark, dressed in street clothes, casually dismantled him while laughing and asking, “Do you believe in magic?”
She treated the legends as peers, not idols. She joked about needing stilts to stand next to them, instantly disarming the room while standing tall in stature and status. Her analysis of Luka Dončić—noting how she studies his ability to “take up space” and control defenders—offered a glimpse into her evolving game. She isn’t satisfied with just being a shooter; she wants to master the physical manipulation of the court, just like the NBA’s best.
The New Deity of Indiana
Reggie Miller’s comments have confirmed what many in Indiana already felt. The state, where basketball is akin to religion, has found its new deity. The torch hasn’t just been passed; it’s been seized.
For Pacers fans, this isn’t a demotion of their team; it’s an elevation of their city. Indianapolis is now the center of the basketball universe, housing two generational point guards feeding off each other’s energy. But make no mistake: according to the man whose jersey hangs in the rafters, there is only one shooter at the very top of the mountain. And she wears number 22.
