Pacers center Myles Turner made plenty of shots during his nine seasons in Indiana. He only needs a few more to set a new franchise record.
After blocking 15 shots in his last four games, Turner is at 1,240 career blocks. Jermaine O’Neal holds the franchise record with 1,245 blocks during his time in Indiana. Turner could pass O’Neal as early as Saturday night, when the Pacers host the Brooklyn Nets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
During his time with the Blue & Gold, the 6-11 Turner established himself as one of the best shot blockers in the league. He blocked 86 shots in 60 games as a rookie in 2015-16, including a memorable block from LeBron James late in the fourth quarter of a Pacers victory. Since then, he has totaled at least 118 blocks every season. He led the league with 199 blocks in 2018-19 and twice led the league in blocks per game (2.7 in 2018-19 and 3.4 in 2020-21).
When Turner signed a multi-year contract extension With the Pacers last January, the question was when, not if, he would chase O’Neal’s record.
He reached 1,000 career blocks early last season, then passed Herb Williams (1,094 blocks) for third place and Rik Smits (1,111 blocks) for second place in franchise history before the end of the season. He had 1,200 career blocks on Jan. 18 of this season and has picked up the pace in his pursuit of O’Neal over the past week, taking four shots last Thursday against Minnesota, six Sunday night in Orlando and four Tuesday in Orlando. Oklahoma City.
O’Neal has held the record for 17 seasons since passing Smits in the 2006-07 season. It was the last time a cumulative franchise record changed hands.
Almost all other career records belong to Hall of Famer Reggie Miller (the franchise leader in games, points, assists, steals, field goals, 3-pointers and free throws), Except for the rebound record, which belongs to Hall of Famer Mel Daniels. , the anchor of the Pacers’ three ABA championship teams.
When will Turner break O’Neal’s record? He’s blocked six or more shots in a game 20 times in his career, so Saturday isn’t out of the question. If he can rack up six blocks in his next two games, he could do it Monday night against Cleveland. After that, the Pacers embark on a five-game road trip.
Turner’s 1,240 career blocks already rank 60th in NBA history. Still only 27 years old, he believes he has a good chance of reaching 2,000 blocks in his career. Only 19 players have reached this milestone, 11 of whom are Hall of Famers.
Derek Kramer on iPacers.com did a great job of compiling a running list of all the players Turner has blocked during his career, making a career total of 421 players. He blocked Andre Drummond 23 times and Giannis Antetokounmpo 22. James is one of 14 players Turner has blocked 10 or more times.
Although he is best known for his shot blocking, Turner is also moving up the franchise roster in several other categories. He moved into fourth place in franchise history with 573 3-pointers and more. Last night, he played in his 556th career game with the Blue & Gold, tying him with Billy Keller for 10th all-time. He ranks seventh in NBA franchise history in rebounds (3,788) and ninth in points (7,691).
