Road to Duke
Miles Christian Plumlee was born September 1, 1988 — the firstborn son of Perky and Leslie Plumlee, two college basketball players who met at a Purdue basketball camp in 1979 and found each other again at a tournament in Indianapolis. Perky had played at Tennessee Tech, a 6’7” forward. Leslie had played at Purdue, a 6’1” forward who once grabbed 25 rebounds in a single game — a record that still stands. When Miles was born, at 11 pounds and 23 inches, the nurse found his feet were too long for the ink pad. The Plumlee dynasty was announced at birth.
The family settled in Warsaw, Indiana. Perky put an adjustable hoop in the driveway. Miles, Mason (born 1990), and Marshall (born 1992) grew up fighting over it. Perky called it cheap entertainment. The games between Miles and Mason were brutal. Marshall squeezed in when he could. It wasn’t always literally a fight, Miles admitted, but we never finished a lot of the games.
Miles attended Warsaw Community High School for three years but played only about thirteen minutes per game. Perky made the controversial decision: Miles and Mason would transfer to Christ School, an all-boys boarding school in Arden, North Carolina, 600 miles from home. Miles was the first one across the mountains. He repeated his junior year. The letters to the editor were brutal. Perky and Leslie wiped away tears all the way back across the mountains.
Miles thrived. Christ School: 63–6 record, back-to-back state championships. Senior year: 15.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.5 BPG. School high jump record at 6’9”. He committed to Stanford. Then coach Trent Johnson left for LSU. Mason had already committed to Duke. Miles called his brother, who didn’t hesitate: come be a Blue Devil. Miles decommitted from Stanford and followed his younger brother to Durham. The first Plumlee to leave Warsaw was now the second Plumlee at Duke.
At Duke
Miles Plumlee played four years at Duke, 2008–12. His career was defined not by stardom but by steadiness, growth, and one historic performance.
Freshman year: limited role, 2.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG. Sophomore year: everything changed. He earned the starting center position over senior Brian Zoubek, started 24 of 40 games, averaged 5.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG, shot 56.1% from the field, and led the team with 33 dunks. He and Mason became the sixth pair of brothers to play at Duke at the same time. That team won the 2010 national championship — Butler, Hayward’s near-miss at the buzzer, 61–59. Miles was part of it. Not the headline, but the foundation.
Junior year: 4.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, consistent minutes. Then came senior year, 2011–12 — the year all three Plumlee brothers wore Duke blue simultaneously. Twenty feet seven inches and 705 pounds of Plumlees. Miles came off the bench but had his best statistical year: 6.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, team-leading 61% from the field.
The signature moment: against Maryland, Miles grabbed 22 rebounds — the most ever by a player coached by Mike Krzyzewski, ninth-most in Duke history. He finished his career with 650 points and 654 rebounds in 135 games. The numbers were modest. The presence was not.
After Duke
Indiana drafted Miles 26th overall in 2012 — his hometown team. Rookie year was mostly spent in the D-League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants: 55 minutes, 14 games with the Pacers. Then he was traded to Phoenix alongside Gerald Green. In Phoenix, everything opened up: career highs of 8.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.1 BPG. Career-high 20 rebounds against the Lakers. Selected for the 2014 Rising Stars Challenge alongside Mason — the first brothers in the same Rising Stars game. On March 17, 2014, both Plumlee brothers started for their respective teams when the Suns visited Brooklyn.
Milwaukee acquired him in February 2015. In August 2016, he signed a four-year, $52 million contract — the largest deal any Plumlee would receive. But injuries and diminished play followed. Charlotte, then Atlanta, where knee injuries limited him. Seven NBA seasons, 258 games, 4.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG.
In January 2020, Miles signed with the Perth Wildcats in Australia’s NBL. Third game: 23 points and 18 rebounds — the first Wildcat to post 20 and 15 since 2007. Perth won the 2020 NBL Championship, truncated when Sydney withdrew due to COVID. The kid from Warsaw whose feet broke the ink pad won a championship on the other side of the world.
Where Is He Now
Miles Plumlee retired after the 2020 NBL season. He is thirty-seven. Mason is still playing, at thirty-five, for the San Antonio Spurs. Marshall won the 2015 NCAA title, played briefly with the Knicks, and became a Ranger-qualified Army officer. Sister Madeleine played volleyball at Notre Dame. Their mother’s Purdue rebound record still stands.
Miles was the first. First born too big for the ink pad. First to transfer to Christ School, first to endure the letters to the editor and the tears across the mountains. First to commit to a college — Stanford — and first to change his mind. First Plumlee at Duke, even though his younger brother arrived first. He won a championship as a sophomore. He played four years and grabbed 22 rebounds in a single game — more than any player Coach K had ever coached. He played seven NBA seasons and won a championship in Australia during a pandemic. He earned $52 million. He watched Mason play thirteen NBA seasons and Marshall serve his country as an Army Ranger. Every path the Plumlee brothers walked, Miles walked first. He was the trailblazer. He was the one who went across the mountains so his brothers would know the way.