The Indiana Pacers are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Although Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam make up the star core of the Pacers, one player stands as the franchise's pillar. Indiana celebrated its current longest-tenured player's special day as a suitable tribute to this vital piece of the franchise.
After 10 years with the Pacers, their starting center, Myles Turner, provided a franchise with 632 games, averaging 14 points and 2.2 blocks per game. While he's not an elite center, the Bedford, Texas native produces statistics of a versatile player.
Turner's segment in the Pacers' pie chart has experienced incrementally smaller slices over the past few seasons in light of Haliburton and Siakam's presence in Rick Carlisle's rotation. Nonetheless, his 3-point shooting has never looked better.
The Pacers starting center is shooting a 39 percent clip from 3 as the Eastern Conference franchise seeks a home-court advantage playoff seed for the 2025 playoffs.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), the NBA and Pacers' accounts posted celebratory messages on Turner's 29th birthday. After a 10-year commitment toward the Pacers, the franchise's records reveal Turner in a few categories.
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Turner is fourth in 3-point shots made, sixth in games played, first in blocks, and ninth in rebounds. Without Turner, the Pacers' current trajectory would appear drastically different.
Indiana's weakest area is defense, but because of Turner's strengths, the team ranks 15th in defensive rating. Turner is to the Pacers' defense compared to what Haliburton is to running an efficient offense for the same squad. Indiana couldn't succeed without either, but Turner has sustained his hold on the defensive side of the ball for a longer stretch.
Turner deserves a birthday cake and a Lego set for his birthday, as he's supporting the Pacers' defense significantly. Perhaps he'll reveal a new Lego set before the Pacers' game vs. the Brooklyn Nets on Monday vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 10:26 AM.
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