The talent currently in the NBA is so rich even those with the sweetest teeth may not discover all it has to offer. Players under 25 alone is a vast list of the NBA’s most gifted. But, when it comes to the newest and most popular, those under 23 come up most often. Joel Embiid, The Process personified, Giannis Antetokounmpo, The Greek Freak, Kristaps Porzingis, the lone bright spot in the big apple, Karl-Anthony Towns, the love child of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, and then Nikola Jokic, the Serbian with the wicked ability to toss the rock. Very rarely does one of the youngest players in the NBA get brought up, Myles Turner.
Myles Turner is currently just 20 years old and to put that youth into perspective, Embiid is more than 24 months older. Why Myles Turner flys so low under the radar is a mystery. He has all the qualities that usually get NBA fans and experts excited. He is an explosive center who plays well above average defense, blocking 2.2 shots per game, causes opposing players to shoot 8% worse at the rim and has a better defensive rating than most of his young counterparts.
He is a surprisingly springy player for someone who appears to have two twenty-pound weights attached to his feet. Being 7 feet tall and 250 pounds may do that to a person’s gait, though. When he runs, he runs on his toes, appearing to bounce forward with each step. One of his favorite moves is to surprise opposing big men with his speed and run right by them for a fast break bucket.
He is not simply a typical 7-foot rim defender either. He is also, arguably, the best shooter on the Pacers and has one of the fastest releases in the NBA.
He goes to this jumper often, which makes sense considering he can flush it through from basically every spot on the court. But, at his size, he should at least attempt to muscle in closer to the basket. His hook shot needs some work because of how little he utilizes it. Besides this, he is absolutely fire from most spots on the floor. On spot-up jumper attempts, he scores about 1.01 points per possession and has an effective field goal percentage of 52%. His shot chart is so green and yellow even the most cheddar of cheeseheads would blush.
Myles has this shooting ability so early in his career because, according to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, this is how he has always played.
Despite frequently towering over opponents growing up, Turner often drifted to the perimeter. In positional workouts, he joined the guard groups.
Coaches kept telling him to get in the post.
Where did he gain the confidence to overrule them?
“My shots were going in,” Turner said, “so that’s all the confidence I needed.”
Because of all this, Myles Turner is the only player in NBA history to produce 200 blocks and have a career three-point percentage of 34% for anyone 20 years old or younger. He was cashing 40% of his 3 pointers before a recent slump and would still be the only player ever to average 1 three-point attempt per game, 2 blocks and have a shooting split of 50/36/80.
So, Turner is already great at the two main things every team is looking for in a common NBA big man, but that is not all he has going for him. He also has the benefit of playing with an established star, something no other 23 and younger player has. Other guys may have teammates that might become stars, but Paul George already is one.
One thing PG-13 and Myles need to do before their ascension occurs, develop better chemistry in the pick and roll. Paul is in the 90th percentile as a PNR ball handler, but he mostly looks for his shot instead of seeking to pass. Myles also has a problem with popping out instead of driving to the rim, attempting to go to his reliable jump shot. This leads to messy spacing. He needs to learn to read the defense better and dive to the hoop when necessary.
Paul George, despite being a great PNR ball handler, does not get to do it very often. The PNR takes up only 18% of his touches, and it mostly occurs when he comes off a screen so look for that number to go up in the future. Though, when they execute this play correctly, it is a thing of beauty.
Some may argue that Paul George is going to leave, extinguishing the chance any of this will actually matter, but this is a strange assumption. As much as Laker fans believe they are going to get every superstar currently in the league, Paul George has million$ of rea$on$ to $tay. Successful NBA partners also don’t need to be on the exact same timeline. David Robinson is 11 years older than Tim Duncan, Kareem is 12 years older than Magic Johnson, and Shaq is six years older than Kobe. Just having another guy who is supremely talented is what’s necessary, not that they are the same age.
With his surprisingly short amount of years on the planet, some may wonder where his head is at. It is hard to be a young millionaire. Ok, it actually seems pretty damn amazing to be a young millionaire but negative people flock to money, and when looking for the next star player, the correct mindset is a huge factor. It appears this won’t be a problem for Myles. He is already becoming a leader in the locker room and shouting out defensive assignments on the floor.
In an interview with Hoops Hype, Myles had a few quotes that should have produced something only Magic Johnson seems to be able to conjure up, a Larry Bird smile;
The biggest thing for me is championships. I definitely want to be on a championship team, multiple championship teams. I want to be a guy who is remembered as a glue guy, a great teammate. Anybody can be the scorer or the rebounder or this guy or that guy – I want to be the glue guy who brings everyone together to win a championship. I want that on my resume. Going back to the All-Star question, I want to make multiple All-Star teams.
His mindset is not only on bringing success to the Pacers but being a successful teammate as well. All of the greatest players to play the game know this is as crucial as any of the other intangibles that make a good basketball player.
He checks so many boxes and the only aspect of his game that needs major improvement typically comes with age, strength. Myles gets bullied out of a ton of rebounds which drops his rebounding numbers. He needs to learn to use his size and strength for better positioning, offensively and defensively.
When he does have decent position down low, he usually does the gritty box out work leaving the rebounds to his teammates. Even passing, another problem area in Myles Turner’s game, looks to be slowly improving. He is averaging just over one assist per game but he is starting to see the floor much better than he used to.
Myles Turner has some ways to go, but he has every tool a player needs to be successful. The other young big men have shown a lot more a lot sooner but that does not mean they will be greater later. Myles just might shock the world.
(ALL STATS ARE ACCURATE AS OF 2/15/17)
