To play with an NBA legend is rare. To witness their day-to-day quirks up close? Even rarer. That’s exactly what former Pacers star Jermaine O’Neal experienced during his Indiana days with Reggie Miller. While fans mostly remember Miller for his clutch threes and actions that irk the Knicks, O’Neal recently peeled back the curtain on the routines that made the sharpshooter tick. And let’s just say—it wasn’t just about the shots.

In fact, during his appearance on the Out the Mud Podcast, O’Neal recalled Miller’s borderline obsession with structure. When podcast co-host Tony Allen joked it might’ve been superstition, O’Neal didn’t dismiss it. Instead, he nodded to Miller’s precise lifestyle. “He did everything on a timely basis; literally, everything is about on a timely basis,” he said. And the tone made it clear—this wasn’t a casual routine. It was a ritual. What’s more interesting is how deep that ritual ran.

O’Neal continued painting a picture that’s almost eerie in its exactness. “He shoot at the same time, he eat his Snicker bar at the same time, he drive the same route. Everything [was] precise,” O’Neal shared. And it didn’t stop there. “He would look at the clock and know exactly what time it was without looking at his watch. Everything was down to the minute.” That kind of body-clock accuracy? Definitely not your average pregame prep. Moreover, Miller wasn’t the only one in on this drill.

O’Neal recalled how the late Pacers media relations director David Benner played a role in this routine, too. “The late great Benner used to do all of our media stuff for the Pacers,” O’Neal remembered. “He used to always bring him his Coke at the same time. And that’s what made [Reggie Miller] great.” Interestingly, this routine-heavy mindset isn’t unique to Miller.

O’Neal drew parallels between the Pacers legend and some of the game’s greatest shooters. “Reggie, Steph, Ray, and Klay all had the same similarities. All those shooters had the same similarities,” he noted. Allen chimed in too, agreeing that “shooters were superstitious.”

And just like that, O’Neal started diving deeper into how Stephen Curry mirrors Miller in ways fans might’ve never noticed.

Like Reggie Miller, Stephen Curry also has superstation

The more you hear about Reggie Miller’s habits, the more it starts to make sense why elite shooters all seem a little obsessive. Tony Allen broke it down best on the Out The Mud Podcast. “They got a superstition about [themselves]. Sounds like they want to repetition everything,” he said. Then he got really specific. “When I wake up, when I put on my socks, to heading out the door. You build some sort of consistency. Just like with your shot, you want to shoot the same way every time.” That mindset doesn’t just live on in Miller—it’s everywhere in today’s game.

After all, Reggie didn’t just shoot for fun—he built a legacy with it. By the time he walked away from the NBA, he’d knocked down 2,560 three-pointers, which stood as the league record at the time. He now ranks sixth all-time, but back then, he was the guy everyone looked up to, especially guys like Steph Curry. But now, Steph sits comfortably at the top of that list, with over 4,000 made threes.

His warmups are so dialed-in that they’ve basically become part of the show. The cameras roll as soon as he hits the court. That repetition? It’s no accident. And O’Neal noticed it right away when he joined the Warriors. “I’ll tell you the thing that really jumped out to me about Steph and Klay in particular,” O’Neal said. “I see they’re shooting at opposite goals… I hear him counting, and [when they hit the rim and] go in, he doesn’t count.”

That same season, O’Neal was convinced—Steph and Klay weren’t just hot shooters. “That’s when I knew they were going to be all-time greats.”