The Indiana Pacers have made an unlikely run to the conference finals, thanks partly to sublime roster construction through the draft and trades. Myles Turner , whom the franchise drafted with the 11th overall pick in 2015, has served as their defensive anchor and reliable offensive weapon.
Interestingly, Turner shouldn't even be on the roster, having been the subject of trade talks plenty of times. But he has survived all those rumors and has continued to be an essential piece for the Pacers . He recently sat down with HoopsHype, where he shared his thoughts on the matter.
"It's pretty dope," he said . "A lot of people were expecting you to fold with that. When you start hearing those types of rumors year in and out, you start kind of getting insecure. You look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, 'Am I the problem?' You've been hyped up your entire life, and when you get to this stage, everything's under a microscope. When you start playing for these multi-million dollar organizations, any little thing that goes wrong, the blame is going to be on you. That's where it got in my career."
"It's a full circle serendipitous moment to finally get an opportunity to play and ball out on this stage, the biggest stage in basketball, while also seeing every single phase of Pacers basketball," he added.
Turner is more than just a role-player
Ever since he entered the NBA, Turner has clearly demonstrated skills that several other teams covet.
At 6'11", he is an elite rim protector, recording 2.2 blocks per game in his career and twice leading the league in average rejections. On offense, the University of Texas product has a range that extends beyond the 3-point line, can put the ball on the floor, and can serve as a rim-runner of pick-and-rolls.
Unfortunately, the Pacers' mediocrity for several seasons made Turner a valuable trade piece that could have likely netted them at least one first-round pick and a young prospect.
Regularly being on the trade block eventually took its toll on the big man, as he once lamented that he was valued as nothing more than a " glorified role player ." Then, in 2022, Turner even volunteered himself to the Los Angeles Lakers, saying that the Purple and Gold should heavily consider giving up multiple first-round picks for him and Buddy Hield.
As it turned out, "Samurai Myles" has continued to be a Pacer, which eventually yielded positive returns for the organization.
Turner's patience paid off
With everything he had gone through, the 28-year-old veteran could have demanded to be shipped to a different team or not signed contract extensions with the Pacers. Instead, he rode it out and finally made an appearance in the conference finals.
Turner has no plans to stop at this stage, though. He expressed confidence that Indiana can advance past the Boston Celtics in the East Finals.
The Pacers have a tall task because the Celtics are the favorites to represent the conference in the championship round. However, don't expect Turner and company to just bow down to the Eastern powerhouse. They put up a good fight in the series opener, forcing overtime, where Boston caught fire to come up with the 133-128 victory.
Fans could be in for some fireworks in Game 2, where the Celts are 0-2 in this year's playoffs.
Related: "We don't really care; we know we belong" - Tyrese Haliburton fires back to the critics after the Pacers lose Game 1 in overtime to the Celtics
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