On November 2, 2004, the opening game of the 04-05 NBA regular season is about to kick off at the Banker's Life Arena, the home of the Pacers, the opening game of this season is slightly different from the previous seasons, for the sake of creating rivals, the two teams that participated in the opening game in the previous seasons are the two teams that participated in the finals last season, and the league is also to deliberately create an atmosphere of rivalry, but as time goes by, this schedule has been met with more and more opposition, Especially after the Lakers lost the Finals for two consecutive seasons, this backlash intensified.

In the end, in the midst of an appeal, the NBA league decided to make adjustments to the opening game of the season, and the Mavericks, who lost the Finals last season, avoided repeating the embarrassing situation of the Lakers, and did not have to witness the Pacers' championship ring presentation ceremony as a loser.

Although the change of schedule has allowed the Mavericks to avoid embarrassment, there will always be teams that will embarrass the Pacers' home court, perhaps deliberately creating gimmicks and attracting attention, and the league's opening game for the Pacers this year is the Houston Rockets led by Maddy and Yao Ming.

The Houston Rockets used the team's leading guards Francis and Mobley as the main chips in the offseason to exchange for Maddie from the Magic, and after Maddie joined, the Rockets also jumped from a playoff fringe team to a Western powerhouse, coupled with the special relationship between Yao Ming and Meng Xu, Maddie and Meng Xu, making this already high-profile opener already in the spotlight before it began, especially in Huaguo on the other side of the ocean, the gimmick of the Chinese derby is very attractive.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon US time, although there are still more than 3 hours before the start of the game, the Bankers Life Arena is already full at the moment, because today's game is not just the beginning of the new season for Pacers fans, nor is it just the presentation ceremony of the championship ring, for them, today is a very special day, because today is the day when the Pacers club held a jersey retirement ceremony for Reggie Miller.

Unlike most jersey retirement ceremonies that will be held at halftime, in order to give Reggie Miller a special retirement ceremony, the management of the Pacers has been studying it repeatedly since the end of last season, and finally after continuous discussions, the Simon brothers, the owner of the Pacers club, personally decided to put Reggie Miller's retirement ceremony on the opening day of the new season, that is, before the Pacers' championship ring presentation ceremony.

At 5:10, all the lights in the noisy Bankers Life Arena suddenly went out, and with the flashing of the floodlights back and forth, the large frequency curtain over the Bankers' Life Arena was lit up, and the first thing that appeared on the big screen was the 1987 draft, when only 22-year-old Reggie Miller, with a slightly green face, a shy expression, wearing a baseball cap printed with the Pacers logo, and holding the Pacers' No. 31 jersey with both hands.

After a few seconds, the image on the big screen began to change slowly, each clip represents Reggie Miller's season with the Pacers, from being selected by the Pacers until the Pacers completed three consecutive championships, the clip of Reggie Miller raising his right fist, 17 years of wind and rain changes, 17 seasons of hard work and dedication, Reggie Miller from a 22-year-old weak champion young man, to today's unconfused year, Reggie Miller left his youth and his entire career in Indiana and stayed with the Pacers.

"Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!...... After all 17 clips were played, more than 20,000 fans in the Banker's Living Arena chanted Reggie Miller's name in unison.

"No one will question your contribution to this team, for 17 years, you are not only the calling card of this team, you are the heart and soul of this team! You're the one who made the Pacers the top team in the league! After a few minutes of cheering, Welsh, the vice president of the Pacers, who spoke on behalf of the Pacers, walked to the center of the court with the microphone, and it was Welsh who chose Reggie Miller with the No. 11 pick in a sea of skepticism and ridicule 17 years ago, and this draft is undoubtedly the most successful draft in Pacers history.

After Welsh's opening remarks, under the light of the spotlights, the protagonist of the day, Reggie Miller, who was already sitting on the sidelines waiting, waved to the surrounding audience and slowly walked to the center of the court.

"Thank you, thank you."

"I know it's not just the Pacers, it's a gift from the fans and the city, and that's how all the people who work hard here identify with me."

"The 17 years I have been here have been the most important 17 years of my life, and I will never forget them, and I hope that in the future, I will still have the opportunity to give back to you! Give back to the city! ”

After Reggie Miller choked up and finished his prepared speech, the lights suddenly turned on, and the more than 20,000 spectators at the Bankers Living Arena, all wearing Reggie Miller's No. 31 jersey, held up a sign with the words "THANK YOU REGGIE!" "Brand.

"Reggie! Reggie!...... The shouts resounded over the Bankers' Living Arena, accompanied by the shouters of the audience, four of Reggie Miller's siblings, including the legendary Cheryl Miller in the history of American women's basketball, who carried the No. 31 jersey that had been framed and walked to the center of the court.

After another thank-you, the five Reggie Miller siblings teamed up to hang the player on a rope prepared in advance, and slowly raised the No. 31 jersey above the Bankers' Living Arena, where Roger Brown's No. 35 jersey, Mel Daniels' No. 34 jersey and George McGinnis's No. 30 jersey were hung, making Reggie Miller the fourth star in Pacers history to enjoy the glory of jersey retirement, and also after the Pacers joined the NBA league. The first star to have his jersey retired.

Since being drafted by the Pacers with the 11th pick in the first round in 1987, Reggie Miller has played for the Pacers for a total of 17 years, and in 1,316 regular season games, Reggie Miller has scored a total of 25,012 points, ranking first in Pacers history, ranking 12th in NBA all-time scoring list, and hitting a total of 2,501 three-pointers in his career, ranking first in the league. It was precisely because of the selection of Reggie Miller that the Pacers went from an underdog teetering on the brink of the playoffs to an Eastern Conference powerhouse.

In 17 years, Reggie Miller's NBA career began with the Pacers, and finally the Pacers, in the NBA, players who can be so loyal to a team like Miller are rare, in 17 years, Reggie Miller has not had disputes with the team over salary issues, nor has he had conflicts with coaches, teammates and Pacers fans, 17 years of loyalty to the Pacers, 17 years of hard work and dedication, and now Reggie Miller has become a symbol of Indianapolis basketball.

One person, one city, one life!