Myles Christian Turner (born March 24, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played one season for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

before being selected by the Pacers with the 11th overall pick in the

2015 NBA draft The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

. Standing at , Turner plays the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions. He has led the league in blocks twice in his career.

Early life

Turner was born in

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 49,928 at the 2020 United State ...

, to parents David Turner and Mary Turner, and started playing basketball at age 6. He attended Central Junior High School, and as a freshman, he led his team to 28 wins.

High school career

Throughout high school, Turner played AAU basketball for the Texas Select team during the springs and summers to further develop himself and gain recognition as a player, participating in well known tournaments and camps such as the LeBron camp, the Nike Big Man Skills Academy, the NBPA Top 100 camp, Adidas Nations, and the Elite 24 invitational. Between his sophomore and junior year, Turner, then 6'7", broke his ankle during the first spring game of AAU play, hurting his chances of

recruitment Recruitment is #Process, the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for Job (role), jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the process involved in ...

, but soon recovered and gained some 30 pounds through two-a-day weight training regimen to improve his game. In his junior year, after fully recovering, Turner averaged 15.7 points, 12.87 rebounds and 8.64 blocks per game, leading Trinity to a 17–13 record and reaching the state playoffs for the first time in 10 years, and only the ninth time in school history dating back to the school's establishment in 1968. He also accumulated six

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

s. During the 2013 AAU summer circuit, Turner maintained his high level of production, leading his Texas Select team to the title at the 2013 Jayhawk Invitational in front of coaches from most of the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

schools. Going into his senior year, Turner began garnering nationwide attention and becoming a highly sought after recruit for his athleticism, ball handling, shooting ability, and natural shot blocking ability for someone of his height. He solidified that by finishing out his high school career with 18.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 6.8 blocks per game, leading the Trojans to a 24–7 record. After finishing off his senior year, Turner was one of the last highly sought after recruits left that were uncommitted. He was rated a five-star prospect by many sites including

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

and several more

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

analysts as well as being considered the No. 2 center in the nation behind

Jahlil Okafor Jahlil Obika Okafor (; born December 15, 1995) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Noblesville Boom of the NBA G League. He played his freshman season of college basketball for the 2014–15 Duke Blue Devils men's baske ...

. Originally going into his senior year in fall of 2013, Turner had already accumulated 60 offers, but by his senior year, the list was narrowed down to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

and

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. On April 30, 2014, live on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

's '' Recruiting Insider'', Turner formally announced his commitment to play basketball for the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. Turner took part in the

2014 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2014 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game that was played on April 2, 2014 at the United Center in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls. It was the 37th annual McDonald's All-American Game for high school boys. The ...

, in which he recorded seven points and seven rebounds. He also represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the

2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship Standings Group A ---- ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- Final round * denotes overtime period Classification 5–8 ---- Semifinals ---- Final classification games Seventh place game Fifth place game Bronze me ...

, helping the country win a gold medal.

College career

As a freshman at

in 2014–15, Turner averaged 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, earning 2015 Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. On March 30, 2015, Turner declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. In June 2015, Turner said, "The decision wasn't really that hard because I knew I would be picked pretty high, so I knew this was my opportunity to go."

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2015–present)

Turner was selected by the

with the 11th overall pick in the

. He missed 21 games between November 13 and December 28 of his rookie season after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his left thumb. On January 22, 2016, he scored a then career-high 31 points in a 122–110 loss to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. On March 3, he was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February after ranking third among East first-year players in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg) and minutes (29.8 mpg) during the month. On March 24, he recorded 24 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in a 92–84 win over the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. Turner helped the Pacers reach to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a 45–37 record, where they lost 4–3 to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

in the first round. At the season's end, he earned

NBA All-Rookie Second Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

honors.

In the Pacers' season opener on October 26, 2016, Turner recorded 30 points and a career-high-tying 16 rebounds in a 130–121 overtime win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. On December 15, he scored 26 points in a 102–95 loss to the

. On March 26, he had 17 points and tied a career high with 16 rebounds in a 107–94 win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. Prior to the start of the 2017–18 season, Turner was elected team captain. In the Pacers' season opener on October 18, 2017, Turner had 21 points and 14 rebounds in a 140–131 win over the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. He missed the next eight games due to a concussion. On November 19, he scored a season-high 25 points against

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. Turner missed nine games in January with an injured right elbow. On March 13, he tied his season high with 25 points against the

. On October 15, 2018, Turner signed a four-year, $72 million contract extension with the Pacers. On October 29, in a 103–93 loss to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, Turner had three blocks to tie James Edwards (391) for number eight on the franchise's NBA career list. On December 10, he recorded a then season-high 26 points and 12 rebounds in a 109–101 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. On December 23, he had 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 105–89 win over the Wizards. On March 5, he had a then career-high seven blocks in a 105–96 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. On March 18, he scored a season-high 28 points in a 106–98 loss to the Trail Blazers. On February 25, 2020, Turner recorded a career-high eight blocks in a 119–80 win over the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. On December 22, 2020, in the Pacers' season-opener, Turner matched a career-high eight blocks in a 121–107 win over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. On January 6, 2021, he recorded eight blocks again in a 114–107 win over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. Turner finished the season with a league-leading 3.4 blocks per game. On October 22, 2021, Turner recorded a career-high 40 points, along with five three-pointers, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in a 134–135 overtime loss to the

. On November 4, Turner scored 25 points while recording a career-high seven 3-pointers and grabbing 13 rebounds in a 111–98 victory against the

. On January 28, 2022, he was ruled out for at least two weeks with a stress reaction in his left foot. On February 10, he was shut down through the All-Star break. On February 23, Turner was ruled out for multiple more weeks. On March 28, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season. He would have led the league in blocks had he played the necessary 58 games, and finished the season averaging 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game in 42 games, while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line. On February 23, 2023, Turner tied a career-high 40 points on a career-high eight three-pointers made and also put up 10 rebounds in a 142–138 overtime loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. On March 22, 2024, in a 123–111 win against the

, Turner recorded five blocks en route to becoming the all-time blocks leader in Pacers franchise history with his 1,246th block, surpassing the previous record set by

Jermaine O'Neal Jermaine Lee O'Neal Sr. (born October 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. A center/power forward, he had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high school ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 60 , , 30 , , 22.8 , , .498 , , .214 , , .727 , , 5.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 31.4 , , .511 , , .348 , , .809 , , 7.3 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , 2.1 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 62 , , 28.2 , , .479 , , .357 , , .777 , , 6.4 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 1.8 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 74 , , 28.6 , , .487 , , .388 , , .736 , , 7.2 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 2.7* , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 62 , , 29.4 , , .457 , , .344 , , .751 , , 6.6 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 2.1 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 47 , , 47 , , 31.0 , , .477 , , .335 , , .782 , , 6.5 , , 1.0, , .9 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 3.4* , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 42 , , 42 , , 29.4 , , .509 , , .333 , , .752 , , 7.1 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 2.8 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 62 , , 29.4 , , .548 , , .373 , , .783 , , 7.5 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , 2.3 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 77 , , 27.0 , , .524 , , .358 , , .773 , , 6.9 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 1.9 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 72 , , 30.2 , , .481 , , .396 , , .773 , , 6.5 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 2.0 , , 15.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 642 , , 609 , , 28.7 , , .499 , , .362 , , .771 , , 6.8 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 2.2 , , 14.1

Playoffs

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2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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, 7 , , 4 , , 28.2 , , .465 , , .000 , , .667 , , 6.4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.3 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 33.3 , , .432 , , .000 , , .625 , , 6.8 , , .8 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 7 , , 28.0 , , .611 , , .462 , , .789 , , 5.1 , , .6 , , .3 , , .6 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 31.5 , , .400 , , .214 , , .615 , , 6.3 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 1.8 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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, 4 , , 4 , , 36.4 , , .568 , , .429 , , .438 , , 10.8 , , .8 , , .5 , , 4.0 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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, 17 , , 17 , , 32.4 , , .517 , , .453 , , .760 , , 6.6 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 17.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 43 , , 40 , , 31.3 , , .508 , , .400 , , .687 , , 6.7 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 1.9 , , 13.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 7 , , 22.2 , , .455 , , .274 , , .839 , , 6.5 , , .6 , , .3 , , 2.6 , , 10.1

Personal life

During his own time, Turner enjoys building

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

sets and practicing

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. Turner is a practicing

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

References

External links

Texas Longhorns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Myles 1996 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Williamson County, Texas Centers (basketball) Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Bedford, Texas Power forwards Texas Longhorns men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen

Early life

High school career

College career

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2015–present)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life

See also

References

External links