Brandon Miller’s NBA summer league debut is a multi-layered statement

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – All eyes at the Golden 1 Center were primarily on Charlotte Hornets rookie Brandon Miller during his NBA summer league debut on Monday. There were cheers when the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA draft was announced in the starting lineup and even some boos after he missed free throws and had shooting struggles.

Through it all, a very proud Darrell Miller sat proudly in Section 119 supporting his son who has been through the highest of highs and lowest of lows in recent months.

“What’s my pride level? Yeah. Oh man. What’s the highest number? Is it one through 10? No, I say it’s 11,” Darrell Miller told Andscape during the Hornets’ 98-77 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Said Brandon Miller: “That’s my dad since day one. He is always going to be with me. That is my security/dad. He is always going to be next to me wherever I go.”

The Spurs were without No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, a projected superstar who could debut in summer league action on Friday in Las Vegas against Miller and the Hornets. Miller averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game during his lone season at the University of Alabama. The 2023 Southeastern Conference tournament Most Valuable Player was also named a second-team All-American.

Without Wembanyama, Miller is the headliner of the six-team, two-day California Classic featuring the Hornets, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. Miller and the Hornets struggled mightily in the first half as he missed four of five shots, had three turnovers and six of a possible 10 personal fouls. Miller finished with 18 points after making 4-of-6 field goals and three 3-pointers in 15 second-half minutes.

“It was a little frustrating because I don’t like to lose,” said Miller, who finished with seven fouls. “It was really fun out there seeing a different environment from the college experience. Fun. Just really out there having fun with my team.”

When asked to grade Miller’s debut, Hornets summer league head coach Marlon Garnett said he declined to give a grade without watching the film first.

“His pace can be positive, but I want to see the motor come out of him a little bit. [Be] a little more aggressive,” Garnett said.

Miller said he wasn’t nervous in the debut moment in front of a nice-sized crowd at the Golden 1 Center. The 20-year-old acknowledged that he thought it was cool wearing gear with an NBA logo on it.

Darrell Miller, who played football at Alabama, thought it was cool to see his son in a Hornets uniform for the first time as well.

“It’s not an official NBA game, but he’s in the NBA uniform,” Darrell Miller said. “It’s not his best game but seeing him out here is a good feeling.”

For Brandon Miller, basketball wasn’t the only topic when he was drafted by the Hornets. His name surfaced in the court testimony of police during a preliminary hearing for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man, Michael Lynn Davis. On Jan. 15, Miles and Davis were charged with capital murder in connection to the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A police officer testified that Miles texted Miller asking him to bring Miles’ gun in the early morning hours prior to the shooting. Miller has not been accused of any crime and has previously said “it was a lesson learned.”

Darrell Miller said he and his wife, Yolonda, have focused on supporting their son mentally after the incident. The Millers also prepared their son to be ready for the criticism he would receive.

“It was really about talking about his well-being,” Darrell Miller said. “My wife is big on mental health. And it was about giving him the opportunity to talk about whatever he needed to talk about, and that was it. It was not about pushing the issue. It’s going to be talked about. People are going to bring it. There are going to be fans who tweet and they are going to have their opinion. You just got to focus on you and that’s it. That’s all.”

Darrell Miller said it’s important for him to always “be there” for his son and his children. He said he has honest conversations with Brandon over phone calls, text messages and long car rides. Pops also says he tries to take his son’s mind off of basketball as well.

On his father’s support, Brandon Miller said: “It’s tough love. It’s kind of how I grew up, tough love. Once you get used to it, it all flows and goes together.”

Sitting down the row from Darrell Miller was his son’s agent, Wilmer M. Jackson-Spencer of Spencer Sports Management. Brandon Miller trusted his father to help him find an agent. The Millers live in Nashville and hired someone they were familiar with in Jackson-Spencer, who attended Tennessee State, an HBCU in Nashville. The St. Louis native is also close to the staff of Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal’s AAU program, which Miller played for.

Darrell Miller said what he liked about Jackson-Spencer was that he was a talented agent who offered his son an ability to see an African American working in the sports industry outside of being an athlete.

“It was the relationship-building part,” Darrell Miller said. “I also wanted him to see that you didn’t have to be a basketball player to be successful. I wanted him to see other Black men being successful in the career that still is pertaining to basketball, but not actually a basketball player. He can have an idea that once basketball ends that he can still be in that basketball world and be successful without actually being on the court.”

On representing Brandon Miller, Jackson-Spencer said: “It has been an amazing journey thus far to be part of it, to watch what he’s been through and see him make it through adversity. The both of us have shared experiences to learn from: his experience and my own as an agent. To work with the No. 2 pick, it’s been amazing to me. Fifteen years, a long time coming.”

African American agents made history during the 2023 NBA draft as for the first time the first ten selections were all represented by Black agents. Klutch Sports, led by CEO Rich Paul, netted more than $390 million for his clients in free agency last weekend. Longtime NBA agent Aaron Goodwin, who attended the California Classic on Monday, represents Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who has requested a trade.

Jackson-Spencer has several clients playing in the G League and overseas, but Brandon Miller is his first major client. Jackson-Spencer credited Black Sports Agents Association chairman and CEO Andre Farr and longtime NBA agents Bill Duffy and Calvin Andrews for their mentoring.

“I met Cal Andrews and Bill Duffy 20 years ago,” Jackson-Spencer said. “That was inspiration to want to even be in the business. To be 20 years later around these guys and seeing the mentors and guys I looked up to, I think this was a statement year considering the top five picks were all from independent agents. So, it’s been a great, great, great year.”

Darrell Miller expects his son to also have a great rookie season with the Hornets. He also believes his son will show he has a lot of good to offer the world off the court as well.

“He’s a great kid,” Darrell Miller said. “He does a lot for the community that no one knows about, and he likes it that way. He doesn’t want be in the pictures. He just wants to do what he has to do, and that’s it. And that’s just what he does. He loves helping people and that’s just him.”