Darius Miles

Darius VaLar Miles (born October 9, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player.

The 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 235 lb (107 kg; 16.8 st) small forward was selected directly out of high school by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 3rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. He was a First Team NBA All-Rookie in 2001, a first for a prep-to-pro player.

Miles' playing career nearly came to an end when he was released by the Portland Trail Blazers in April 2008 after two years away from the court following microfracture surgery on his right knee. He returned to action during the 2008–09 season as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Early years

Miles was born in Belleville, Illinois and attended East St. Louis Senior High School in East St. Louis, Illinois.

NBA career

Los Angeles Clippers

Miles entered the 2000 NBA Draft and was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers as the third overall pick, at the time the highest a player had been drafted directly from high school and for the next two seasons Miles, Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette, Lamar Odom and Elton Brand entertained fans with their exciting, high flying style of play. He played his first two seasons with the Clippers, earning an NBA All-Rookie Team first team honor in 2001. In those years Miles, Richardson and Co. helped the Clippers improve their win column from 15 wins in 99-00, to 31 wins in 00-01 to finally 39 wins in 01-02. In the 2001-02 season, the Clippers appeared to be on the verge of their first playoff appearance since 1997, however they were only able to win 3 of the last 12 games of the season, ultimately finishing five games out of the playoffs.