Myles Turner just finished up his third season, one which left us with far more questions than answers about his long-term place with the Indiana Pacers.
In sports, just like in life, perception is everything. Just take Myles Turner.
Can you really look at Turner and say that he had anything other than a successful year for the Indiana Pacers? For a guy who wasn’t a top-10 pick and only just turned 22 years old, the numbers say no.
There were two players in the NBA this season with per-36 minute averages of at least 16 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one made 3-pointer. One is Joel Embiid, who, if the league started from scratch tomorrow and every team had to redraft its roster, would almost certainly be a top-five pick. The other is Myles Turner.
On paper, he’s everything you want in a modern big man: someone with range on offense and who can protect the rim on defense, not to mention hold his own switched out on the perimeter. In the playoffs, he shot 61 percent and was a +40 in his 196 minutes of court time. He also still has a year left on his rookie contract.
That’s all fantastic. What isn’t great is that Turner’s numbers are essentially the same now as they were when he was a 19-year-old rookie (his per-36 minute counting stats are eerily similar for all three years). After a jump in minutes and efficiency his sophomore season, this year was supposed to be when he made the leap to stardom.
Figuring out why, and where this leaves us with Turner, requires getting a little more in-depth, starting with what he did that should still have everyone feeling pretty good about his future.