National Basketball Association

Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner Is Emerging As A Powerful Force

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner is emerging as one of the NBA’s most powerful young forces

Everyone knows the big name sophomore stars. Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker and Kristaps Porzingis are all expected to build off of their NBA All-Rookie First Team honors this year.

However, the sophomore that has intrigued me the most since his rookie year is the Texas native with the crazy hair, Myles Turner.

Myles Turner stats (5 games): 17.4 ppg, 7.8 boards, 2.4 blocks, 58.6% from the field

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Myles Turner was the No. 2 overall recruit on the ESPN top 100 chart in 2014. He chose to stay local and attend The University of Texas. In his one season in Austin, he only started seven out of the 34 games he played, often playing behind the senior, Cameron Ridley.

In 22.2 minutes of action, he averaged 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, shot 45.5 percent from the field, and 83.9 percent from the line. Although only shooting 27.4 percent from three-point range, we were able to see that stretching the floor would become a vital part of his game.

With a 7-foot-4 wingspan and a 9-foot-4 standing reach, Turner also has the length and physical tools to add to his versatile game.

With no surprise, Turner entered the 2015 NBA draft and he fell into the lap of Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers with the 11th overall selection. In summer league, he averaged 18.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks; making teams wonder why in the world they passed up on him.

During his rookie season with the Pacers, he averaged 22.8 minutes per game, 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 49.8 percent from the field, 72.7 percent from the line, and 21.4 percent from three.

These numbers are very similar to his numbers at Texas. However, we need to consider two important things here. One, he missed one fourth of the season due to his thumb injury that required surgery.

Two, he only played around 22-23 minutes per game, yet shot nearly 50 percent from the field. We only got a small dose of what Myles Turner will be like in his rookie campaign; the 20-year-old has barely scratched the surface on both ends of the court.

This season he is playing just about 30 minutes per game thus far, and I expect him to be around that mark for the entire year. He is off to a great start (including a 30 point, 16 rebound, 4 block performance in the home opener against the Mavs).

He is in a perfect situation. He doesn’t have all the pressure on him because Paul George is the face of the franchise. He is on a team that will be competitive and is much improved with their offseason acquisitions.

And, he has big Al Jefferson mentoring him this year (which I think will be very overlooked). He plays both sides of the ball with energy and enthusiasm, and he will just keep getting better and better. Everyone should be excited for the potential star power of Myles Turner, and also be on the lookout for his name to be considered for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

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