A new classic story may have been added to Portland Trail Blazers lore this week, and it comes from former Portland guard Andre Miller. It turns out, during Miller’s 2010-11 season with the Blazers, the NBA veteran missed game time due to … a chocolate overdose.
Miller recounted the incident and how it led to a brief hospital stay during an appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast after host Matt Barnes asked if he had any guilty pleasures:
Man, chocolate. Candy, man. I’m gonna tell you a story. I’m playing
in Portland, and me and my woman go — the day before the game, there was a chocolate convention. You know convention centers are huge, so it was just unlimited chocolate, man. The day before the game, I’m just in there eating all kinds of chocolate, different stations and stuff.
I forgot who we were playing the next day, but I could feel it coming. I just overdosed on chocolate, and the game starts, man, and the first trip up and down the court, I literally ran off the court, and I had to go to the emergency room. They put me to sleep. They morphined me. They put me to sleep for like two days. I ate so much chocolate. … I had food poisoning, everything!
The game Miller referenced was a home matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 22, 2011, which the Blazers won 97-92. Miller logged just 2:42 minutes in the win, along with one assist and one turnover. Unsurprisingly, the true nature of Miller’s health issue wasn’t divulged to the public at the time, and he was back in the starting lineup for the team’s next game two days later. In an archived article from The Oregonian about the event — which is a funnier read in light of this chocolate revelation — reporter Jason Quick wrote that Miller was hospitalized due to a “stomach ailment.”
Miller received two bags of intravenous fluids before Saturday’s game, then removed himself after playing the first 2:42. After the game, he was admitted to an area hospital for an overnight stay to receive more fluids.
In the next game against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 24, 2011, Miller logged 33 minutes, 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 96-81 loss.
The other interesting, and perhaps ironic, element of this situation is Miller’s iron man status as a player. In December of that same 2010-11 season, Miller’s league-leading streak of 632 consecutive games played was controversially broken by a one-game suspension he served because of an on-court incident involving LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin. That suspension marked the only game Miller missed in 10 straight seasons from 2003-13 — with the two minutes he toughed out against Indiana in January 2011 saving that total from jumping to two games.
Miller spent two seasons with the Trail Blazers from 2009-11, averaging 13.3 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds over 163 appearances. He retired from the NBA in 2016 after 17 seasons, lauded as one of the most respected and savvy guards of his era. Miller also served as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, from 2022-25.
You can watch Miller’s full appearance on “All the Smoke” here. He also discusses his memories playing with former Blazers Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, among other topics.
