Paul George and his Olympic teammates were very impressed with how Myles Turner played on the USA Select Team.
Paul George considers Myles Turner one of “the best up-and-coming talents” in the NBA. The two Indiana Pacers standouts went toe to toe in practices while PG and his Olympic teammates were getting warmup from the USA Select Team.
Turner, just 20 years old, was thrilled to be named to the team, which is seen as something of a grooming grounds for Team USA.
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But it wasn’t just Paul George who was impressed by Turner. After all, as the Pacers captain, he is supposed to say nice things about his big man. But, according to George, the whole Olympic squad was impressed with the 6’11” center out of the University of Texas.
“Myles looked good,” said Paul George in Pacers.com video. “Myles looked really good. I think the whole talk around that camp was ‘Man, you got a good one.’ And that’s coming from all the guys on the Olympic team. Everybody was just raving about how good Myles is and how lucky we are to have him. He’s earned the respect of the veterans, of the peers. He’s going to be good. He’s got it down now. He loves to work..”
Paul George knows first hand that playing against the all-world talent on the Olympic team can have a real impact. PG practiced against Team USA in 2012 back before he was one of the best players alive and the experience showed him what it’s like to compete against the greats.
“I definitely took a lot of strides when I played with the Select Team. It was just a confidence booster, day in and day out, going against the best guys in the NBA. You learn from it. And I think he’s built that confidence.
The one time Paul George was probably not happy to have Myles in town was when he blocked his elder teammate’s shot.
All those who saw Turner bringing it against Team USA seemed to walk away impressed.
Marc Spears of ESPN was on hand to watch some of the scrimmages and suggested that Myles Turner belongs on the big-boy team.
Myles Turner has been playing on the @usabasketball Select team like he should be on the varsity team.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 20, 2016
Ethan Sherwood Strauss called Turner “fantastic.”
Myles Turner looks fantastic in this scrimmage. Stuffed a Cousins post up, then drained a 3 https://t.co/n5YDfkh3lE
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) July 20, 2016
Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post jumped in on Sherwood Strauss’ comment to add some more insight about the young big man who dazzled everyone in Las Vegas.
One of the most intriguing young big men in NBA. With Mahinmi off to Wizards, expect a big role for him w/ Pacers https://t.co/tIaBde0Akw
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) July 20, 2016
While there has been much made about the excellent offseason that the Pacers and Larry Bird had — trading for Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young while signing Al Jefferson — the young fella is the franchise’s most important player.
Paul George remains the star and the leader who will decide how far they can ultimately go. But one guy can only take a team so far. Even LeBron never won a ring without a top-level sidekick.
The next few years for the Pacers hinge on how good Myles Turner becomes. If he reaches All-Star heights, Indiana can compete with anyone in the East.