The end of Myles Turner as an Indiana Pacers player was one of the more bizarre developments of this offseason. After spending his entire career with the franchise in the NBA, a rather convoluted exit led him to join the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since the exit, the sweet shooting center has been vocal about the circumstances surrounding his exit from the team that initially drafted him. As it turns out, the Pacers aren’t willing to take shots lying down, as they responded in rather brutal fashion during their latest encounter.
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Myles Turner Mocked by the Pacers
Initially drafted as the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Turner spent a decade in Indiana, solidifying himself as one of the best centers in franchise history. A two-time block leader and a virtual guarantee for 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, he was a constant presence for the franchise.
A member of seven different playoff teams for the Pacers, he played a critical role in their run to the NBA Finals last season. However, that would also be his final year with the team, as the two sides headed towards an ugly divorce.
As he’s described it, the offer from the Pacers was remarkably pedestrian. As a result, he felt blindsided by the move and decided to sign with Milwaukee, which offered him a four-year, $107 million deal after waiving Damian Lillard at the cost of $113 million.
His choice of team, in particular, was going to rub his former team and fan base the wrong way, given their rather complex history. Beginning with a game ball debacle in 2023, the teams have met in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
While Indy walked out as the winner both times, the series themselves were an intense, brutal affair. That vitriol is now also directed at Turner, who was the subject of a rather brutal roast from the Pacers.
During the game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Jumbotron showed a disrespectful stat against him. It read, “Isaiah [Jackson] notched his 3rd double-double of the season with 16 points and ten rebounds against Detroit [Pistons]. Myles Turner has yet to notch his first double-double of the season with Milwaukee.”
This year, he’s averaging 12.3 points (his lowest since the 2020-21 season), 6.3 rebounds (his lowest since his rookie year), and 1.7 blocks (his lowest since his rookie season). However, the vitriol hasn’t been entirely one-sided.
Earlier in the year, he did make a rather incriminating statement as he declared, “I’m in a city now that wants to celebrate me. There’s a great quote that says, ‘Go where you’re celebrated.’ I feel like that’s here.”
However, he went on to clarify that the message was entirely based on how he felt the free agency period had gone, rather than the fan base itself. But the battle lines have been drawn clearly than ever.
Right now, an injury-ravaged Indiana squad without Tyrese Haliburton is probably not the ideal competition for a Bucks squad. However, a classic encounter could be in the very near future for these two closely linked franchises.