Eddie Miles

For the American football player, see Eddie Miles (American football).

Eddie Miles
Miles, circa 1961
Personal information
Born (1940-07-05) July 5, 1940
North Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolScipio A. Jones
(North Little Rock, Arkansas)
CollegeSeattle (1960–1963)
NBA draft1963: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Drafted byDetroit Pistons
Playing career1963–1972
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number14, 15, 42
Career history
1963–1970Detroit Pistons
1970–1971Baltimore Bullets
1971–1972New York Knicks
Career highlights
Career NBA statistics
Points8,120 (13.4 ppg)
Rebounds1,860 (3.1 rpg)
Assists1,225 (2.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference

Edward Miles Jr. (born July 5, 1940) is a retired American basketball player. His shooting ability was such, that he was known as "The Man With the Golden Arm".

Early life

Miles was born on July 5, 1940, in North Little Rock, Arkansas.[1] He was a graduate of Scipio A. Jones High School, in North Little Rock. He averaged 18, 25, 30 and 32 points per game, respectively, in his four years as a varsity high school player, and he led Jones to four state championships.[2] In 1959, he led the team to the finals of the national black high school tournament.[3]

Miles was a two-time All American in high school,[4] four-time all-state selection,[5] and was recruited by 50 colleges. He chose to attend Seattle University because of his admiration for its alumnus Elgin Baylor (1958), and because Baylor had called Miles to recruit him to Seattle.[2]

College

Miles was nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Arm" by Seattle's sports information director Bill Sears, because of his shooting prowess.[2] He played three varsity seasons with Seattle and ranked seventh in the nation in scoring during his senior year (1962–63), with a 25.8 points per game average.[6][7] He led his team in scoring all three years, and remains Seattle's third leading scorer with a 23.1 average, Baylor being number one at 31.1.[2][4]

Seattle went to the NCAA tournament all three years Miles played, with a 57–22 record, losing in close games all three times; by two points in one game, and four points in two other games, including one in overtime.[2][8] As a senior, Miles was All-Coast and third-team AP (Associated Press) and United Press International (UPI) All-America.[8]

Professional basketball career

A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) guard, Miles was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the fourth pick of the 1963 NBA draft.[2] He played nine NBA seasons with Detroit, the Baltimore Bullets, and the New York Knicks. He suffered an Achilles tendon injury and had surgery in the offseason before the 1971-1972 season, but the injury shortened his career.[2][9]

Detroit Pistons

As a Pistons' rookie, Miles only played 13.5 minutes a game and averaged 5.4 points per game.[10] His skill set was a poor match for coach Charley Wolff's offensive scheme. His play and numbers improved significantly when Wolff was fired in November 1964, and 24-year old Pistons' forward Dave DeBusschere was named head coach; the youngest in NBA history. Miles's best years came in Detroit ensured, when he averaged 19.6, 17.6 and 18.5 points per game in consecutive seasons from 1965-1968.[1][5][11] He represented the Pistons at the 1966 NBA All-Star Game, scoring 17 points, high on the West team.[2][12] Although his scoring average fell after the 1967-68 season, he never averaged less than 13.3 points per game for the Pistons after his rookie season.[1]

Baltimore Bullets and New York Knicks

He was traded from the Pistons to the Bullets for Bob Quick on February 1, 1970, in a transaction that also involved both teams exchanging selections in the subsequent draft with Baltimore receiving a fourth-round pick (54th overall–Bill Stricker) and Detroit a second-rounder (32nd overall–Ken Warzynski).[13][14] He was waived by the Bullets after the 1970-71 season, and the Knicks acquired him with two of their guards (Mike Riordan/broken wrist and Walt Frazier/hospitalization) unavailable to play.[9] He would play in 42 games, averaging only 4.7 minutes a game.[1]

In 1971, he was on the Baltimore Bullets team that defeated the New York Knicks 4–3 to win the Eastern Conference finals, averaging nearly 10 points a game for the season coming off the bench.[15] He did not play in those seven games, or the 1971 playoffs, because of the Achilles injury; but ironically played in nine playoff games for the Knicks in 1972.[1]

Miles averaged 13.4 points per game in his NBA career.[1] He found the defense of Hall of fame guard Lenny Wilkens particularly difficult.[5][16]

Post retirement

Since retiring as a player, Miles has served as a coach at the college and high school levels, and has worked as a private basketball trainer.[4][8] He also worked as an accountant for the government and as a financial services agent.[8] As of 2024, he has been married for 64 years to Carolyn Miles, with five children and six grandchildren.[2]

Honors

Miles was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.[17] In 2011, he was inducted into the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame.[4][18] He received the Seattle University Alumni Award in 2020.[4]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1963–64 Detroit 60 13.5 .353 .713 1.6 1.0 5.4
1964–65 Detroit 76 27.3 .442 .744 3.4 2.1 13.7
1965–66 Detroit 80 34.9 .447 .741 3.8 2.8 19.6
1966–67 Detroit 81 29.9 .427 .772 3.7 2.2 17.6
1967–68 Detroit 76 30.3 .475 .764 3.5 2.8 18.5
1968–69 Detroit 80 28.2 .449 .667 3.5 2.3 13.3
1969–70 Detroit 44 28.3 .435 .765 3.9 1.9 13.5
1969–70 Baltimore 3 17.3 .700 .600 1.3 1.3 5.7
1970–71 Baltimore 63 24.5 .426 .803 2.7 1.6 9.9
1971–72 New York 42 4.7 .359 .889 .4 .4 1.5
Career 605 25.9 .440 .747 3.1 2.0 13.4
All-Star 1 28.0 .500 .200 1.0 0.0 17.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1968 Detroit 6 32.8 .411 .750 3.7 2.5 14.5
1970 Baltimore 5 12.6 .400 – 1.0 .0 1.6
1972 New York 9 1.9 .000 .800 .9 .1 .4
Career 20 13.9 .387 .765 1.8 .8 5.0

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Eddie Miles Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hanson, Scott (May 17, 2024). "Seattle U great Eddie Miles' Golden Arm carried him to long NBA career". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "Hatfield, Horton to Enter Hall of Fame". Paragould Daily Press (Paragould, Arkansas). December 18, 1988. p. 17.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Eddie Miles '63 Among Seattle U Alumni Awards Recipients". Seattle University. February 4, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Cavagnaro, Charles (February 27, 1966). "Miles' 'Golden Arm' Shining". The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee). p. 33.
  6. ^ "Eddie Miles College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "1962-63 Men's College Basketball Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d RALEY, DAN (December 28, 2005). "Where Are They Now? Eddie Miles, Seattle U. basketball". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "KNICKS GET MILES AS BACKUP GUARD". New York Times. October 23, 1971.
  10. ^ "1963-64 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  11. ^ "Legends profile: Dave DeBusschere | NBA.com". NBA. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  12. ^ "1966 NBA All-Star Game Box Score". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "Pistons Deal Bellamy; Oscar On Mart," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, February 2, 1970. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  14. ^ 1970 NBA Draft Pick Transactions, March 23, 1970 – Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "1970-71 Baltimore Bullets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Lenny Wilkens". www.hoophall.com. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  17. ^ "Hatfield among six inducted into state sports Hall of Fame". The Jonesboro Sun (Jonesboro, Arkansas). February 18, 1989. p. 17.
  18. ^ "Eddie Miles (2011) - Hall of Fame". Seattle University. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
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