Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner joined elite company on Thursday night when he recorded 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
Myles Turner is the future of the Indiana Pacers, but in their win over the Brooklyn Nets, he did something that’s only been done by three other players in the past 30 years.
Turner racked up 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks as a 20-year old, something only Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, and Shaquille O’Neal have done.
It should be noted, though, Shaq did it five times before he was of the legal drinking age.
It was Turner’s sixth double-double of the season, the tenth time he scored 20 or more points and the sixth time he had 10+ rebounds.
Part of the Pack
He may not be getting the same attention that some of the other unicorns of the NBA are getting, but as The Step Back’s Chris Reichert observes, that isn’t because of Turner’s talent.
"Rather than entering on the red carpet like his peers Towns and Porzingis, Turner was welcomed in through the back door. This trio will inevitably remain connected by comparison their entire careers, but Turner didn’t even garner a mention in Bill Simmons’ latest column on the unicorns of today’s NBA.Turner does not need or crave the spotlight to be considered elite, even at just 20-years-old. The plus side for the Pacers is George is still just 26-years-old himself, so this pair of two-way, generational talents should be chained together for years to come. Indiana has been disappointing (17-18 right now) and the promised uptempo change hasn’t quite taken hold just yet. But George and Turner give the Pacers something to continue building around.While Towns, Porzingis and Joel Embiid garner the majority of headlines night after night, Turner is quietly staking his case as one of the league’s best young 5s as well. His offensive numbers have not reached the stature of his peers, but he’s starting to stretch the floor behind the 3-point line, and his block percentage of 7.09 is just under Embiid’s at 7.76, both of which tower over Porzingis’ (4.46) and Towns’ (3.50)."
Like most players his age, he still needs to learn a few things defensively, but on offense, he fits in perfectly.
Turner doesn’t shoot as much as some of his peers because when it comes down to it, he is a second or third option on the Indiana Pacers offense. With Jeff Teague running the show and Paul George closing it, Turner doesn’t have to carry the weight of the franchise on his shoulders. It allows him to find his spots so he can shoot 53.2% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range.
Unlike Towns, Porzingis, and Embiid, Turner has been on a winning team since he got into the NBA. The Pacers want to develop Myles, but they don’t have to throw the ball to him all the time because he is their only and/or best option. Indiana has a pair of All-Stars and a solid veteran on the court with Turner, allowing him to play within the offense instead of being it.
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Turner may not be putting up the same stats night in and night out as his more well-known counterparts, but games like the one on Thursday prove he is capable putting up similar numbers.