Alabama Crimson Tide forward Brandon Miller was the best player in college basketball last season, proving himself worthy of being one of the top picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, off-the-court issues clouded his draft stock this year.
During the 2022-’23 season, Miller’s teammate Michael Davis was indicted on a capital murder charge. As law enforcement investigated the fatal shooting of one woman, it was discovered that Miller allegedly delivered the gun that was used and his attorney admitted Miller was present.
However, Miller was never charged in connection with the shooting and investigations haven’t uncovered any direct involvement. The 6-foot-9 forward still came under public scrutiny after he initially continued to do his pregame pat-down intro, before immediately ending it after the public criticism.
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Miller, who turns 21 in November, was named the SEC tournament MVP, SEC Player of the Year and earned consensus second-team All-American honors. Now, the former five-star recruit is poised to be one of the top picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. While he will face questions from NBA teams regarding what happened, there is reportedly already a lot of positive buzz around him.
During ESPN’s draft lottery coverage, Adrian Wojnarowski said he spoke to multiple teams around the league and they each said they heard positive things about Miller’s maturity, work ethic and character from those who knew him at Alabama.
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“Teams have already spent a lot of time and resources on that particular event and the background of Brandon Miller. What I’m getting back from those organizations is, not only did they not find anything that they would consider disqualifying to select Brandon Miller, they are finding a young man who they say is mature, focused, whose character and his habits are actually an asset in their evaluation of him.”
Adrian Wojnarowski on how NBA teams view Brandon Miller’s character (H/T On3.com)
While the pre-draft interviews will be even more crucial, the glowing recommendations from the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff, athletic department and those around the program will go a long way with the NBA.
Miller has drawn NBA comparisons to Paul George, with many evaluators and executives confident he can blossom into a perennial All-Star forward. Whether it’s the Charlotte Hornets or Portland Trail Blazers selecting him, Miller will be a Rookie of the Year candidate as a top-three pick.
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