# Eddie Miles

Edward Miles Jr. (born July 5, 1940) is a retired American basketball player. His shooting ability was such, that he was known as "The Man With the Golden Arm".

## Early life

Miles was born on July 5, 1940, in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a graduate of Scipio A. Jones High School, in North Little Rock. He averaged 18, 25, 30 and 32 points per game, respectively, in his four years as a varsity high school player, and he led Jones to four state championships. He was a two-time All American in high school, and was recruited by 50 colleges, but he chose to attend Seattle University because of his admiration for its alumnus Elgin Baylor (1958), and because Baylor had called Miles to recruit him to Seattle.
Miles was nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Arm" by Seattle's sports information director Bill Sears, because of his shooting prowess. He played three varsity seasons with Seattle and ranked seventh in the nation in scoring during his senior year (1962–63), with a 25.8 points per game average. He led his team in scoring all three years, and remains Seattle's third leading scorer with a 23.1 average, Baylor being number one at 31.1.
Seattle went to the NCAA tournament all three years Miles played, with a 57–22 record, losing in close games all three times; by two points in one game, and four points in two other games, including one in overtime. As a senior, Miles was All-Coast and third-team AP (Associated Press) and United Press International (UPI) All-America.
In 2011, he was inducted into the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame.

## Professional basketball career

A 6 ft 4 in guard, Miles was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the fourth pick of the 1963 NBA draft. He played nine NBA seasons with Detroit, the Baltimore Bullets, and the New York Knicks. He had suffered an Achilles tendon injury and had surgery in the offseason before the 1971-1972 season, but the injury shortened his career. His best years came in Detroit where he average 19.6, 17.6 and 18.5 points per game in consecutive seasons from 1965-1968.
He was traded from the Pistons to the Bullets for Bob Quick on February 1, 1970, in a transaction that also involved both teams exchanging selections in the subsequent draft with Baltimore receiving a fourth-round pick (54th overall–Bill Stricker) and Detroit a second-rounder (32nd overall–Ken Warzynski). He was waived by the Bullets after the 1970-71 season, and the Knicks acquired him with two of their guards (Mike Riordan/broken wrist and Walt Frazier/hospitalization) unavailable to play. He would play in 42 games, averaging only 4.7 minutes a game.
Miles averaged 13.4 points per game in his NBA career and represented the Pistons at the 1966 NBA All-Star Game, scoring 17 points, high on the West team.
In 1971, he was on the Baltimore Bullets team that defeated the New York Knicks 4–3 to win the Eastern Conference finals, averaging nearly 10 points a game for the season coming off the bench. He did not play in those seven games, or the 1971 playoffs, because of the Achilles injury; but ironically played in nine playoff games for the Knicks in 1972.

## Post retirement

Since retiring as a player, Miles has served as a coach at the college and high school levels, and has worked as a private basketball trainer. He also worked as an accountant for the government and as a financial services agent. As of 2024, he has been married for 64 years to Carolyn Miles, with five children and six grandchildren.
He received the Seattle University Alumni Award in 2020.

## NBA career statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
| 1963–64 | Detroit | 60 | 13.5 | .353 | .713 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| 1964–65 | Detroit | 76 | 27.3 | .442 | .744 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 13.7 |
| 1965–66 | Detroit | 80 | 34.9 | .447 | .741 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 19.6 |
| 1966–67 | Detroit | 81 | 29.9 | .427 | .772 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 17.6 |
| 1967–68 | Detroit | 76 | 30.3 | .475 | .764 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 18.5 |
| 1968–69 | Detroit | 80 | 28.2 | .449 | .667 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 13.3 |
| 1969–70 | Detroit | 44 | 28.3 | .435 | .765 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 13.5 |
| 1969–70 | Baltimore | 3 | 17.3 | .700 | .600 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 5.7 |
| 1970–71 | Baltimore | 63 | 24.5 | .426 | .803 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 9.9 |
| 1971–72 | New York | 42 | 4.7 | .359 | .889 | .4 | .4 | 1.5 |
| Career | Career | 605 | 25.9 | .440 | .747 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 13.4 |
| All-Star | All-Star | 1 | 28.0 | .500 | .200 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 17.0 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
| 1968 | Detroit | 6 | 32.8 | .411 | .750 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 14.5 |
| 1970 | Baltimore | 5 | 12.6 | .400 | – | 1.0 | .0 | 1.6 |
| 1972 | New York | 9 | 1.9 | .000 | .800 | .9 | .1 | .4 |
| Career | Career | 20 | 13.9 | .387 | .765 | 1.8 | .8 | 5.0 |