Reggie Miller Oddly Suggests Lakers Should Miss Late Free Throw

The TNT analyst unleashed a rather interesting suggestion for the Lakers' game plan.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reggie Miller went viral Tuesday for his comments down the stretch during TNT's broadcast of the Los Angeles Lakers' 110–106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA play-in tournament.

The Lakers led 108–106 when Pelicans guard CJ McCollum fouled Lakers center Anthony Davis with 2.2 seconds remaining. As Davis strolled up to the free-throw line for two shots, Miller unleashed his rather interesting suggestion for the Lakers' game plan.

"Here's things that you talk on the bus with players," Miller said to TNT play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Harlan. "If [Davis] makes the first one, you're up three [points]. Do you try to purposely miss the second one, knowing that [the Pelicans] don't have any timeouts and they've got to go coast-to-coast?

"As soon as you miss it, time is going to start as soon as it's touched. Or do you just make them both, be up four, and game over?"

Curious commentary from Reggie Miller wondering if the Lakers should miss a free throw instead of making both to go up four with 2.7 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/1DA6sZrDpK

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 17, 2024

Davis wisely followed Miller's latter suggestion, sinking both free throws and extending the Lakers' lead to four points. McCollum missed a 30-foot three-point attempt at the buzzer to clinch the West's No. 7 playoff seed for Los Angeles.

NBA fans on social media were puzzled why Miller thought Davis should purposely miss his second free-throw attempt and not give the Lakers a four-point lead:

his math checks out, ive never seen anybody score 8 points in 9 seconds before. https://t.co/hWbz4e7FJ3

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 17, 2024

No matter what the score is Reggie Miller will find a way to live brainstorm the worst strategies you’ve ever heard

— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) April 17, 2024

Reggie Miller watching a player make a free throw up 3 pic.twitter.com/ZHCr89tGQg

— I Think You Should League Pass (@nbaleave) April 17, 2024

Reggie Miller during the end of Lakers-Pelicans 😂pic.twitter.com/0Rrkdv5x6r

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) April 17, 2024

https://t.co/ORrW5hMiQr pic.twitter.com/mYpp0w3w9j

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 17, 2024

Incredible. “Let’s see…we can win the game…or intentionally give the other team a chance to tie. Hmmm…”

— Ed Markey (@EWMarkey) April 17, 2024

It was so bad that my immediate thought was that I must have misheard what he said

— The Wiz Wit (@TheWizWit) April 17, 2024

The Lakers advance to face the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets in the first round, a rematch of last year's Western Conference finals.