Last month, former Texas big man Myles Turner became the
11th Longhorn
to be rostered in the NBA Finals.
In his tenth season with the Indiana Pacers, Turner helped lead the team to its first appearance on the championship stage since 2000. Turner, who is from Bedford, Texas, was selected 11th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Pacers following a Big 12 Freshman of the Year campaign on the Forty Acres.
Turner was one of the faces of the Pacers’ postseason run due to his decade-long loyalty to Indiana and two-way importance to the Pacers’ starting lineup.
So when Turner ditched the Pacers in favor of their developing rivals, the Milwaukee Bucks, on July 1, it proved to be a highly shocking move of free agency.
The abrupt breakup between Turner and the Pacers caused some divisive animosity within Indiana’s fanbase, and blame for the result was split between the player and the team.
There was
reportedly
mutual interest in a Turner extension with the Pacers leading into the offseason. However, Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating Achilles injury in game 7 of the NBA Finals has made Indiana contention in 2026 look increasingly unlikely. It has raised doubts about the organization’s willingness to pay the luxury tax.
ESPN later reported in a
July 7 article
that the Pacers’ front office was “fully-prepared” to go into the threshold to keep Turner in Indiana. However, that was before the Bucks’ offer caught them off guard and won Turner’s signature.
Turner inked a four-year, $108.9 million contract, pairing the Texas product with star Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
In his
goodbye message
to Indiana on July 10, Turner thanked Pacers fans for “pouring into (him) as a person, not just as a player.”
“That’s real love, and I can’t thank you enough for embracing me from day one,” Turner wrote.
But when joining the NBA TV broadcast of his new team’s 2K26 Summer League game on July 12, Turner acknowledged that not all may be sweet from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd in his first visit back.
“I don’t know what to expect. I really don’t,” Turner said. “I think it’s going to be half and half. You know, even (during) my time there, there (were) a lot of people that wanted me off the team, and now that they got what they wanted, and now they’re complaining still. … On my end, I’m always going to be a Hoosier. There’s no love lost.”
Turner’s move within the Eastern Conference’s Central division, which he designated as a business decision that was about him staying competitive, sparked an outpouring of varying reactions.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told
Forbes’ Tony East
, “We’ll be fine,” when questioned about losing Turner.
New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson called the Turner situation “weird” on the
Roommates Show
due to the nature of his departure.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst
stated
on the show “First Take” that if he was an Indiana Pacer, he would be “disgusted” by the organization’s handling of the contract negotiations.
There will be plenty of judgmental eyes on Turner as he begins a new chapter with the Bucks. Most clear is that the former Longhorn’s return to Indiana will be one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2025-26 season.
