Who will take over as the veteran leader for the Indiana Pacers?

Can Myles Turner take over as the veteran leader at a young age?

Believe it or not, Myles Turner leads the Pacers in perhaps the two most important stats when it comes to defining veteran leadership: experience on the team, and playoff experience. Yup, despite being 23 years old, Turner leads the team in both years as a Pacer (4) and playoff games (22).

He’s been a vocal leader for the team in recent years, too, and has undoubtedly been a leader in the community, between Apex Legends and his Spider-Man adventures. He’s started 268 games for the Pacers, and after signing an extension last year is a long-term part of the team’s future.

What are the downsides? Not much, though his age isn’t doing him any favors. The Pacers are a young team, but 23 is still on the younger side of it, and there are plenty of guys on the roster that have more than four years of playing experience.

Still, his experience has been arguably more valuable than others, and his entire body of work and career growth has happened internally with the Pacers organization. In a world where Oladipo wants to be more of a playing leader, with Turner being more of a locker room leader (think PG and David West), Turner could thrive as a veteran presence.

But, Victor Oladipo is not Paul George. And with Young now gone, it’s likely that he will be the one to step up as the leader of the team on the court and off the court.