From the Athletic:
04. Brandon Miller
W/F | Alabama | Birthdate: Nov. 22, 2002 (Age: 20) | 6-8 | 200 LBS | Hometown: Antioch, Tenn.
BACKGROUND
Parents are Darrell and Yolanda. Darrell was a tight end at Alabama. Brandon’s brother, Darrell Jr., also played college hoops
and played overseas briefly. His sister, Britany, plays basketball at Cumberland University. Because of his dad, Brandon grew up
rooting for Alabama. Miller played football and baseball growing up as well and was quite excellent at baseball before choosing
YEAR TEAM LEAGUE AGE GP PPG RPG APG TOPG BPG SPG FG% 3P% FT%
2022-23 Alabama NCAA (SEC) 20 37 18.8 8.2 2.1 2.2 0.9 0.9 43.0 38.4 85.9
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to focus on basketball in high school. Attended Cane Ridge High School in Antioch. Emerged on the recruiting scene very early
and was almost immediately a five-star recruit in his class. Was considered a top-15 recruit by the time he was a sophomore. By
the time his junior season rolled around, he was the best player in Tennessee and won the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year
award. Repeated as a senior when he averaged 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Considered a lot of different options,
including Kansas and Tennessee State, as his cousin Penny Collins is the coach at TSU. Also considered the professional route,
with both G League Ignite and NBL in Australia making real overtures. Ultimately chose Alabama. Became very clear from reports
from scouts who had attended practice that Miller was going to be a standout, one-and-done player. From his first game in
Tuscaloosa, it was clear Miller would be an elite player. Was a consensus second-team All-American and a finalist for the Wooden
Award for national player of the year. Won SEC Player of the Year and led Alabama to the regular-season title in the league.
Won SEC tournament MVP while leading the Tide to a title. Alabama was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Miller
struggled in the tourney, and the team lost in the Sweet 16 to San Diego State. Ultimately, Miller declared for the 2023 NBA Draft
and signed with an agent. He was invited to the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.
During Miller’s lone season at Alabama, police said in court that Miller delivered then-Alabama teammate Darius Miles a handgun
used in the January fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris. Miller and his attorney have insisted that Miller was
unaware the gun was in the vehicle. Miles and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis were arrested and indicted on capital murder
charges. Miller was not arrested or charged. NBA teams at the top of the draft are doing their own intel-gathering, and the intel
regarding Miller before the incident was considered to be positive. If no additional information is found before the draft, it is not
expected to impact where Miller is selected.
STRENGTHS
Great size for a floor-spacing wing at 6-foot-9 in shoes. Harder than you think to find legitimate wings who are great shooters
and can defend in space at that height. Very few of them come through. Also, a very fluid athlete. Moves his feet well laterally.
Miller was also one of the most productive players in all of college basketball this past season as the centerpiece of one of the
best teams in the country. Consistently impacts the game across the court. He is an aggressive, tough rebounder who does a
good job of crashing the defensive glass and starting the break on his own. Will grab-and-go on the break and get to the rim. Also,
an aggressive offensive rebounder who is a regular threat for putbacks.
Miller is an elite shooter. There’s no other way to put it. Clearly has elite touch and can get them up at extremely high volume
due to his elite shot prep. Few had better shot prep in college basketball this past season outside of the pure shooting specialists.
Miller has his body turned toward the rim on the catch almost every time, off movement or off spot-ups, and is ready to fire. Uses
both a one-two step or shots off the hop to get into his shot. Very quick gather and release. Has a bit of a ball dip, but it doesn’t
really impact the quickness of the release. Also has a bit of a lower release point, which allows him to speed things up, and at his
height, the lower release point off the catch doesn’t really impact his ability to get shots off at volume.
Because of that ability to gather quickly off the hop and that height with his release point, Miller has elite potential as a floorspacing
weapon in the NBA. Made 39.8 percent of his absurd 201 attempts off the catch, per Synergy. Terrific coming off a variety
of different actions. Alabama used him off dribble handoffs where he flattened out behind the screener and fired. The Tide used
him in corner drift actions where he planted off the hop and fired. Also can fire off pull-ups with ease and is a legitimate selfcreator
off pull-ups from behind the 3-point line if he gets to his stepback. Per Synergy, Miller made 32.9 percent of his pull-up
3s this past season, a good number for a 20-year-old given that he was taking over two of them per game. Will walk into them in
transition, making him a guy you must pick up as soon as he crosses half court. Has some real flaws as a self-creator that we’ll
get to below, but there is a lot of room for growth.
Miller is a very comfortable, if loose, ballhandler who has control over the basketball out of ball screens even if he can’t quite
get anywhere completely effectively yet for reasons we’ll explore. Knows how to string out defenders in space and create
mismatches for himself and teammates. Again, can create those stepback opportunities in these circumstances with ease if
he gets a big switched out onto him. Didn’t get to showcase this a ton at Alabama due to the team’s style of play, but Miller was
known more for his game as a midrange player in high school. He has a lower release point on his catch-and-shoot 3-point
jumper, but Miller can raise his release point as necessary in certain settings to be able to get his jumper up over the top of
defenders. Moreover though, I also think he’s a sharp passer. Showcased his IQ as a point forward more at lower levels but clearly
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sees the court well and finds interesting passing angles. Knows how to read the back side of defenses. Even showcased a couple
of flashes of being able to manipulate players with pass-fakes from a standstill before hitting a teammate in a different spot.
Miller is also a steady defensive player for his size. He’s not a lights-out defender or a stopper, but he’s reliable and should
translate well schematically to the NBA. Alabama used him on guards regularly, and he was relatively effective in terms of
switchability. He’s not the quickest guy in the world, but he’s big and fluid enough to flip his hips well in space and try to cut off
a different angle if the man beats him. Off the ball, Miller does a good job of constantly being in the right position and using his
size and length effectively. He stays on-balance and closes out well to shooters. Doesn’t really miss rotations often. He’s locked
in and engaged in the way you’d want him to be. Does not project anywhere near All-Defense level but has potential to be a cog
in solid defensive teams.
WEAKNESSES
The critical concern here is strength in Miller’s lower half and torso. Miller struggles to maintain his position and advantages
with regularity because of these concerns. In my view, he’s not overly explosive because of these factors. Not really an effective
leaper and doesn’t have much of a first step.
In general, the big question for Miller as a potential top-five pick is that he really struggles to separate from his man. He’s good
at stringing them out and getting what should be a positional mismatch. He plays with real bend through his lower half, which
allows him to out-leverage guys despite his height. But he doesn’t seem to have the speed or strength to take advantage of those
opportunities yet. He’s also not particularly shifty like a primary creator such as a Jayson Tatum. His contact balance is not
great. Namely, I think his footwork needs quite a bit of work on these drives. Doesn’t have the best first step. Really struggles to
maintain his momentum due to his strength and often ends up taking some extra steps that give defenders from the weak side
more time to react. This is fixable with work in the offseason and continued weight training. But if the strength never comes, he
might not be able to hold onto the advantages he gets on the court.
It’s also worth noting that Miller’s midrange game, even in the small moments he was allowed to utilize it, didn’t really pop at
Alabama. Made just seven of 24 pull-up midrange shots, per Synergy. Also made just 32.4 percent of his floaters. Will need a bit
more evidence that it will pop in the same way in the NBA that it did in high school.
His finishing got better throughout the season, but there is significant room for growth. This is a significant weakness area that
may cap his upside without improvement. He smokes more layups than you’d like to see. Gets contested quite regularly on his
shots there. Can’t really slow down with a deceleration step because he doesn’t have the strength to hold guys on his hip or keep
them where he wants them. That mixed with his lack of explosiveness upward results in a lot of wilder shots at the basket that
don’t quite work as well as you’d want them to. We also don’t really have an idea what his feel looks like as a cutter. Rarely was
asked to cut to the basket at Alabama. Had opportunities at times but just didn’t take them. Only five such shots this past season,
which is a remarkably low number for someone with this kind of shooting gravity.
Miller’s take-off point tends to be way farther away from the rim than you’d hope to see, and he doesn’t absorb contact well
right now. Comfortable driving left and occasionally willing to take shots with his left hand at the rim, but the touch level is not
as strong. That results in a lot of attempts where he tries to load up off two feet and go up with his right hand from the left side
of the basket with both hands on the ball. Miller’s overall percentages are egregiously bad, especially considering he played in
arguably the most well-spaced offense in college basketball. He made just 39.3 percent of his half-court opportunities at the rim,
including about 38 percent of his attempts on layups. Only had two dunks in the half court. The big question is whether Miller
can pressure the rim at all.
SUMMARY
It’s hard to look past Miller’s combination of size, shooting, defensively capable play and production. Guys who are this big and
versatile do not last long on draft night, especially when they have clearly displayed elite touch. It’s exceptionally difficult to
find players like this, and when you do find them and they work out in the NBA, they’re worth their weight in gold. Even if some
of the handle and playmaking ability doesn’t quite come to fruition, Miller is kind of a no-fail prospect in today’s league. The
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worst-case scenario is that he’s a 6-foot-9 shooter with wing athleticism and fluidity who makes 38 percent-plus from 3 and plays
solid defense. My bet is that Miller turns into a high-level starter in the NBA. And if some of the on-ball creation comes along as
he gets stronger and can hold guys off and maintain his contact balance as he drives to the rim, there is All-Star upside.
Ultimately, Miller will go somewhere in the top five and potentially No. 2 overall. Does he have the star power some others
beneath him have? I think he certainly has that upside, which is why he’s in this tier. But I think others in this class are more
likely bets. While Miller’s high floor probably gives him a higher expected value than someone like Amen Thompson, at the top
of the draft, teams should be drafting for star upside. And while I see Miller certainly in the same tier as these other guys, I have
him at No. 4 because I worry about his intersection of strength and athleticism comparatively to others in this class.
