As he heads into his 10th season with the Pacers, starting center Myles Turner may be in line for the best basketball of his career. Given how essential he has been to the Pacers' roster over the last decade, this is a bit of a bold claim.
With the Pacers, Turner is a two-time blocks champion and earned All-Rookie honors in 2015-16. Additionally, he finished in the top 10 of Defensive Player of the Year voting twice in his career and has developed into one of the best offensive centers in the NBA today.
However, in spite of all of this, the Texas native may just be entering his peak ahead of a contract year in 2024-25.
Myles Turner aims to be more physical, no longer feels stagnant
During his Media Day appearance on Monday, Turner spoke about his expectations for the season, and he gave a lot of interesting information. Arguably the biggest tidbit is that he revealed he put on seven pounds of muscle this offseason, per SI.com's Tony East. In turn, this should help him become a more physical big man and a better rebounder.
Myles Turner wants to be more physical and says he added seven pounds of muscle. Hopes to be a better rebounder, which he says is about committment.
— Tony East (@TonyREast) September 30, 2024
He's 260 pounds now.
This is especially noteworthy because one of Turner's biggest flaws on the court is his rebounding. Despite standing at 6'11", Turner has never averaged more than 10 rebounds per season. His career-high is 7.5 rebounds per game, which he accomplished during the 2022-23 season. Last season, he averaged 6.9 rebounds per game.
This will not only help Turner individually, but if he can become a better rebounder next season, this will pay dividends for the Pacers, who finished as the third-worst rebounding team in the NBA last season.
Furthermore, the 28-year-old reflected on approaching his 10th season with the Pacers and opened up about embracing his leadership role. Turner is the longest-tenured Pacer currently on the team, and he recognizes that the rest of the team follows what he does.
“For about 3 or 4 years, I felt a little stagnant. I was just going through the motions.
— iPacers.com (@iPacersblog) September 30, 2024
But as it may be I am the motion now.”
Myles Turner on starting year 10 in Indiana pic.twitter.com/vqJMrTArYC
“For about 3 or 4 years, I felt a little stagnant. I was just going through the motions, but, as it may be, I am the motion now. I feel like everybody kind of follows what I do in this city," Turner said.
With this mentality, Turner now has the chance to fully embrace his leadership role and lead by example. While it may not lead to a direct change in thee team's performance on the court, it is always good for chemistry to have a leader the rest of the team likes. Now, it seems that the the 28-year-old is fully prepared to take on this role.
Turner is entering the final year of his contract. However, based on what we know early on at the start of training camp, it seems highly unlikely that Turner will jump ship any time soon, and he should remain with the Pacers as they inch ever so close to legitimate title contention.