There are very few cities that can lay claim to the broadcasting greatness that the city of Los Angeles has. The Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Dodgers have each boasted legendary voices that transcend their respective sport.
Chick Hearn spent over 40 seasons as the Lakers’ play-by-play man and was the first broadcaster to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Likewise, Vin Scully spent 67 seasons with the Dodgers and is absolutely beloved in Los Angeles and beyond.
The same can be said for Bob Miller, who 44 seasons as the play-by-play man for the Kings before retiring last year. On Saturday night, Miller was forever immortalized with a statue outside of Staples Center.
He joins Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robataille as those with ties to the Kings who are enshrined outside the arena. Ahead of the statue unveiling, a number of Laker legends, including Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal, congratulated Miller on the accomplishment.
The Kings shared the thoughtful messages on their Twitter account:
“You’re now in the land of legends” – @SHAQ pic.twitter.com/zuvAfMKMZh
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 13, 2018
"Your announcing is hall of fame” – @kaj33 pic.twitter.com/0ccTBevtbz
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 13, 2018
“You’re as good as it gets” – Jerry West pic.twitter.com/K9eZmGiqPz
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 14, 2018
"I put you in the same category as Vin Scully and Chick Hearn as the greatest announcers this town has ever seen.” – @MagicJohnson pic.twitter.com/TMQOwkzJsc
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 14, 2018
Each video truly represents the personality of each of the legends that spoke and congratulated Miller on the honor.
Shaq, of course, had to make a joke, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West were both simple, professional, and straight from the heart. Meanwhile Magic trademarked that famous smile and personality, but one thing that was consistent from everyone was that Miller was deserving of his statue.
Miller started with the Kings in 1973 and ultimately called more than 3,300 Kings games in his illustrious career. His achievements include receiving the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, being inducted into the Los Angeles Kings and Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame, and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
One thing that can’t be argued is that the fans of Los Angeles embrace everyone involved with the home teams, not just the players. As the love shown to Hearn and Scully is proof of, this city loves those who serve as the voice for their favorite moments and Miller represented that for the Kings.
Miler became the ninth person to receive a statue outside of Staples Center joining Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, Gretzky, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, Robataille and Oscar De La Hoya.
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