Indiana Pacers: 3 players facing most pressure in 2019-20

Can Turner become elite?

Myles Turner is already one of the best rim protectors ever to play the game. His 8.4 block percentage led the NBA in 2018-19 and stands 16th on the all-time single-season block-percentage list.

Ten of those to 16 seasons belong to Manute Bol (four), Mark Eaton (three) and Shawn Bradley (three),

On top of that, Turner seems to have finally learned how to rebound after struggling with that skill in his first three seasons in the league. He posted career-highs both in rebounds per 36 minutes and rebounding percentage.

As if that weren’t enough, despite what the voting media would have you believe, Turner had one of the strongest cases in the league for Defensive Player of the Year.

The cherry on the sundae? Turner added a 3-point shot to his arsenal, and while he shot only 2.6 of them a game in coach Nate McMillan‘s Dark Ages offense — the Indiana Pacers were second only to the San Antonio Spurs for lowest 3-point attempt rate as a percentage of their overall field goal attempts last season — he made 38.8 percent of them.

Turner is in the first year of a four-year extension paying him $72 million.

Whether that turns out to be the biggest bargain contract in the league or a you-get-what-you-pay-for salary for a below-average offensive player with one strong skill on defense depends on whether Turner can continue to grow as a player the way he did in 2018-19.