It’s not always a Hall of Fame career. Sometimes we remember a player for one great season, or an improbably amazing game. Sometimes, it’s a single unforgettable play.
Milt Palacio player seven years in the NBA for six teams, never as more than a barely-serviceable backup guard. He was riding the pine for the Celtics twenty years ago when Boston was trailing the Nets by two with little more than a second left on the clock. All New Jersey has to do was inbound the ball and the game was over.
Enter Miracle Milt.
Palacio stole the ball and heaved it from more than thirty feet out. The shot fell as time expired, winning the game for the Celtics and making Palacio a momentary hero in the midst of a lost season.
Palacio would become an itinerant basketball wanderer. In addition to his six NBA teams, he would play for another ten teams in Serbia, Russia, Greece, Spain, Puerto Rico, Israel, and Lithuania. In 2008 he was MVP of Euroleague and led Serbia to a title. But he’ll always be Miracle Milt to me.