Myles Turner Leaves Pacers After a Decade, Joins Bucks in Blockbuster Deal
Wow, the NBA offseason has already delivered some serious heat—and one of the biggest headlines so far? Myles Turner is officially leaving the Indiana Pacers after a full decade with the team and signing a massive four-year, $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. That’s right. The Pacers' all-time leading shot-blocker is heading to one of their biggest division rivals. And yeah, this changes everything.
Turner has been the anchor of Indiana’s defense for years, and this past season, he might’ve played the best basketball of his career. He averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting nearly 40% from three—career highs all around. Defensively, he was just a monster as usual: 2.0 blocks per game, finishing third in the NBA behind only Victor Wembanyama and Brook Lopez. The guy had 144 total blocks this season. Oh, and remember—he now holds the Pacers’ franchise record for blocks at 1,412, surpassing Jermaine O’Neal. Legendary stuff.
But the situation in Indiana shifted dramatically. The Achilles injury to Tyrese Haliburton changed the entire direction of the team. Without their star guard for next season, the Pacers weren't willing to go into luxury tax territory to keep Turner. As much as he wanted to stay, they just didn’t make it work.
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Still, the Bucks wasted no time scooping him up. And in doing so, they made a huge move for the present—and possibly signaled the end of the Damian Lillard era in Milwaukee, since reports suggest they’ll waive him to create space. Now that’s a twist nobody saw coming this early in free agency.
What Turner brings to Milwaukee is more than just stats. He’s become one of the NBA’s rare big men who can stretch the floor while being an elite rim protector. Just last season, opponents shot 4.5% worse at the rim when he was on the court. His defensive presence was key to the Pacers making the Finals for the first time in 25 years. Sure, he struggled a bit against OKC in the Finals, but don’t let that overshadow the impact he had in earlier playoff rounds—especially his 46 total blocks, the most in the postseason.
Turner’s also matured mentally. He’s embraced his role, talked about sacrificing individual accolades, and focused on what really matters: championships. And now, he’s heading to a Bucks team that still has Giannis, that still has championship aspirations, and now has a true modern-day center who fits perfectly into today’s NBA.
Honestly, I’ve always felt like Turner never quite got the flowers he deserved in Indiana. Maybe now, with the Bucks, under a bigger spotlight and next to a perennial MVP candidate, the world will finally see just how valuable he really is.
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