- Stranger Things Season 5 includes a 1987 Indiana reference debating the Pacers’ decision to draft Reggie Miller over hometown star Steve Alford.
- The show correctly places Miller’s NBA debut on Nov. 6, 1987, and his box score (10 points on 4-of-6 shooting) is referenced in dialogue.
- Steve Alford also made his NBA debut that night; he played for the Dallas Mavericks and posted six points and five assists.
- The on-screen debate underscores how Miller became a long-term Pacers legend while Alford had a modest NBA career before moving into college coaching.
H2: What the episode showed
In the seventh episode of Stranger Things Season 5 — set in Hawkins on Nov. 6, 1987 — two soldiers debate the Indiana Pacers’ decision to draft Reggie Miller with their 1987 first-round pick instead of Indiana native Steve Alford. One character wonders whether Alford “wouldn’t have doubled that score,” while the other points out Miller’s efficiency: “Four-of-6 from the field! Reggie’s gonna be something special. You mark my words.”
Embedded post (X): https://x.com/iPacersblog/status/2004768677896618010
The brief exchange is a purposeful nod to the region’s real-life basketball conversation in 1987 and to the show’s commitment to authentic period detail.
H3: The real games on Nov. 6, 1987
The episode’s date and Miller’s stat line are accurate. On Nov. 6, 1987, Miller made his NBA debut for the Indiana Pacers in a 108–95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming off the bench, Miller played 26 minutes and scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting — adding one rebound, two assists and three steals.
Steve Alford, the Indiana high school legend who starred at Indiana University under Bob Knight and won the 1987 NCAA championship, also began his professional career that night. Alford, a second-round pick by the Dallas Mavericks, recorded six points and five assists in his first NBA game.
H3: How their careers diverged
Reggie Miller stayed with the Pacers for 18 seasons, retiring as one of the NBA’s greatest shooters and the then-leader in career three-pointers made. He scored 25,279 points, earned five All-Star nods, three All-NBA selections and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Miller became a Hall of Famer and a central figure in Pacers history.
Alford’s NBA tenure was shorter and more modest — he averaged 4.4 points per game across stints with the Mavericks and Golden State. After his playing career he forged a long path in college coaching, including head-coach roles at Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA and, since 2019, Nevada.
H4: Why the reference matters
The exchange in Stranger Things functions as both local color and a cultural shorthand: it signals the show’s Indiana setting while gesturing toward a well-known regional debate about home-state pride and draft choices. It’s also a crisp reminder of how hindsight reshapes sports narratives — a single draft pick can become a touchstone for decades of discussion.
The reference is small but precise: it connects a fictional Midwestern town to a real NBA moment and uses accurate dates and stats to deepen the show’s 1980s atmosphere.
Image Referance: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6926513/2025/12/29/reggie-miller-steve-alford-stranger-things-reference/
