Myles Turner sets Pacers franchise blocks record vs. Warriors

The Pacers have a new franchise leader in blocks, and he wears number 33.

Since getting drafted in 2015, Myles Turner has made his name around the league as a defensive specialist and shot blocker, even being one of the few players to block LeBron James back in 2016. For nine years now, Turner has blocked 2.2 shots per game en route to being one of the NBA's premier rim protectors.

Coincidentally, all of those years have been spent with the Indiana Pacers as well. After surviving trade season after trade season, Turner's blocks began to add up, and he entered Friday's contest against Golden State only two blocks behind Jermaine O'Neal for first on the Pacers' all-time list. The mission for Turner was simple, three blocks to make history.

Turner got the block party started early, getting his first rejection on a Jonathan Kuminga dunk around four minutes into the game. Around a full quarter later, he got his second block, this time on a Draymond Green layup after an initial mixup gave the block to Aaron Nesmith, despite Nesmith not being near the play at the time. Nonetheless, this block tied Turner for the top spot with O'Neal at 1,245 blocks, only one away from standing alone.

Around 10 minutes of game time later, it happened. With 9:35 to go in the third quarter, Turner blocked a Kuminga dunk, the same player whose shot he blocked to start the night, to get three blocks and beat out Jermaine O'Neal as the Indiana Pacers' franchise leader in blocked shots with 1,246.

After three blocks in just over a half of play, it would be reasonable to assume Turner would lay low on the blocks for the rest of the night, but that was not the case. In the third quarter alone, Turner had two more blocks, both on Stephen Curry, to finish his night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks, increasing his total to 1,248 and cementing his status as Indy's greatest rim protector of all-time.

After the game, Turner was asked how he felt holding Indy's franchise record in his ninth season, and Turner responded aptly, thanking the fans and acknowledging the love everyone has shown him over the years.

With a team history filled with great defenders such as Jermaine O'Neal, Roy Hibbert, Rik Smits, and the Davis boys, it says a lot that a 27-year-old Myles Turner stands above all as the Pacers' best shot blocker with room to go. in only his ninth season and showing no signs of slowing down, Turner will add to that record quite a bit over the years, eventually leaving O'Neal's total a distant memory. However, that did not stop O'Neal from showing plenty of love and support to the man who just broke his long-standing record.

Thankfully for Pacers fans, Myles Turner will not stop blocking shots anytime soon, and Indiana needs as many smothered chickens as they can get going forward. Congrats, Myles!