Larry Bird Says Myles Turner Could be Among the Best Indiana Pacers Ever

Larry Bird thinks Myles Turner could be the greatest Indiana Pacers player ever, but where do the 20-year olds numbers stack up against other all-time greats?

Indiana Pacers Larry Bird sat down with Nate Taylor of the Indy Star to talk about Myles Turner recently and didn’t mince any words when talking about the job Turner has done this year.

“He works hard. He wants to be great. He’s going to be great. To me, I think he’s got a chance to be one of the best players or maybe the best player (in the franchise’s history). You’ve still Paul (George) with a bunch of time left, too, and you had Reggie (Miller) here with all the other great ones. But being a 20-year-old and doing what this kid is doing just blows my mind.”

You can read the complete notes from Nate Taylor here, it’s a great read. That’s a lot of rhetoric from Larry Bird though — how does Myles Turner’s 2nd year (so far) compare to some other recent Pacers greats’ sophomore seasons?

Myles Turner

15.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, .9 assists, .7 steals, 2.4 blocks, 52.8% shooting, 42.2% 3 point shooting

Paul George

12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, .6 blocks, 44% shooting, 38.5% 3 point shooting

Danny Granger

13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, .8 steals, .7 blocks, 45.9% shooting, 38.2% 3 point shooting

Jermaine O’Neal

4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, .3 assists, .3 steals, 1 block, 48.5% shooting

Reggie Miller

16 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals, .4 blocks, 47.9% shooting, 40.2% 3 point shooting

Myles Turner is shooting better from the field and from 3 than any of these Pacers greats did in their 2nd season, averaging more points than anyone but the iconic Reggie Miller, and is averaging the most rebounds and most blocks.

It’s worth noting that JO only played 60 games and 13.5 minutes per game because of his youth — but he was only a year younger than Turner is now.

While Bird’s words sound a lot like a team exec just saying nice things about a talented second-year player, Turner is further along in his 2nd year than arguably any recent Pacers star, and at only 20 years old. While he’s not a superstar yet by any means, Turner’s fast start with the Pacers shouldn’t be taken for granted or ignored.

Next: Miller Time Podcast Episode #171: Home Soil Advantage

By all indications from prior Pacers stars, Turner is going to be special.