Indiana Pacers Center Myles Turner Is Making An Early Case For Defensive Player Of The Year

Myles Turner has always been one of the better defensive players in the NBA. Since the Pacers big man entered the league in 2015, only three players have blocked more shots than he has. His defensive box plus-minus of +1.3 in the same timeframe ranks 31st among high-minute players. Very few guys have played defense better than the Indiana center over the last half-decade.

But now, after five seasons of steady overall growth and dominant defensive play, Turner has taken his talents on the less glamorous end of the court to another level. In the 2020-21 season, his defensive box plus-minus sits at +3.0, which is tied for the best mark in the NBA. His block rate is currently at a league-leading level. And he’s sticking with perimeter players better than he ever has in the past. To put it bluntly: Myles Turner is playing like the best defensive player in the NBA.

“You didn’t think [Turner] could go to a different level defensively, but he has gone to a whole different level defensively,” Pacers forward JaKarr Sampson said of Turner’s improvements this season. “He’s protecting our rim. He’s doing a great job holding down that paint and he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s changed a lot of shots. Even the shots he doesn’t get to, he’s changing them and making people think about them. He’s big for us right now.”

Turner’s rim protection, specifically, has been crisp and forceful this season. When he is rotating from the weak side to stop a driving opponent, he often is able to make a stop. In drop coverage, when the Texas product is tasked with defending both a ball-handler and a screener for a few moments, he has locked up offenses. And when he gets a chance to swat a shot attempt into the empty crowd, he takes full advantage — Turner has blocked a ridiculous 45 shots through 11 games this season.

“It’s definitely been a goal for myself to start the season off strong on the defensive end,” Turner said early in the 2020-21 campaign. “I’ve gotten the respect as a shot blocker in this league. I know it’s something that I do. But I’m trying to take that to the next step. I’ve already proven that you can lead the league in blocks and not make an All-Defensive team or not be Defensive Player of the Year. So it’s time to do more and assert myself more on that end.”

In being more assertive, Turner is being more impactful. A factor that has allowed the six-year vet to be more versatile and powerful on defense this season is a change in scheme. In the offseason, the Pacers switched Head Coaches from Nate McMillan to Nate Bjorkgren. They also parted ways with Assistant Coach Dan Burke, who played a key role in the Pacers’ old defensive strategies.

The coaching change has the blue and gold playing much more aggressively on defense. Guards and wings swarm the ball and fly around. When those perimeter players get beat with a dribble move or with a pass, it’s up to Turner to cover for their mistakes. On top of that, he is forced to pounce on ball handlers himself when he gets switched on to shot creators.

That duality has been no problem for the defensive great so far. “He’s so active,” Bjorkgren said of Turner on defense. “His aggressiveness on the defensive end is what I continue to praise. His job is difficult a lot of times.”

Bjorkgren, who simply loves talking about basketball, explained something specific that he admires about his starting center on defense: that Turner thrives defending two players by himself. The Pacers coach detailed that the big man has to deal with a player who is putting pressure on the paint and a cutter at the same time. Yet Turner succeeds often in those scenarios. He turns what is usually a sticky situation into an advantage for the Pacers.

“Sometimes, the ball is coming right at him and the big is diving behind him. So he has to play a lot of 2-on-1s and we ask him to play two, the ball and his man, a lot,” Bjorkgren said. “Most of the time, he’s coming away with that victory there with a block or a deflection or just somehow changing the angle of the shot or pass.”

Statistically, the numbers agree with Bjorkgren. Turner averages 3.4 deflections per game, tied for 10th in the league. As stated earlier, he ranks first in blocks. He forces misses at the rim better than most, his defensive field goal percentage from within six-feet is 42.2%, which ranks fifth in the NBA among players defending at least five shots per game at the basket. His shot contests force opponents to miss 16% more often than expected. His impact is obvious no matter how you try to find it: with your eyes or with the numbers.

Opposing teams hunt for different shots when Turner is in the game. He scares matchups away from the paint, and they pass out of tough layups in a way that they don’t when the former lottery pick is on the bench. With the Pacers starting center in the game, opponents attempt a smaller percentage of their shots from four feet and in than they do when he is resting. Turner makes it hard for other teams to even get the looks they want.

“He’s a guy that can change a lot of shots,” Houston Rockets guard John Wall said of Turner this season. “He does a great job coming from the weak side and blocking shots. That’s what he’s there for.”

Turner’s influence on the game gives his teammates more confidence in their own roles. Pacers’ perimeter defenders can be more aggressive, like their new coach wants, and more confident knowing that on the infrequent occasion that they do get beat or make a mistake, Myles is behind them to keep things in order. His presence allows Indiana backcourt players to play more freely, which improves everyone’s effectiveness on defense.

Victor Oladipo is one of those backcourt players, and he has been playing improved defense this season in part due to his ability to remain constantly aggressive with Turner behind him. “I feel like now that us guards are taking pride in ball pressure and getting up into guys and making it tough for guys, Myles has been huge for us,” Oladipo said. “[His defense] is needed. I said it before and I’m going to say it again. We need him.”

Perhaps the most clear way to display Turner’s defensive impact is by looking at how much better his team is defensively when he is in the game. With Turner on the court, the Pacers have conceded 769 points in 714 possessions, which computes to a defensive rating of 107.7. When the 6’11” big man sits? The team has allowed 442 points in 397 tries. That’s a defensive rating over 111.3, which is almost four points worse than when Turner is in the game. He’s absolutely critical for Indiana’s defense.

That difference becomes even more dramatic when fellow center Domantas Sabonis is removed from the equation. When Turner is the only center on the court for the blue and gold, the Pacers have conceded 217 points in 216 trips down the court, good for an elite defensive rating of 100.5. When Turner is captaining the defense, the Pacers are impossible to score on.

“What he’s doing right now is special,” Oladipo said. “I hope he understands that. I’m pretty sure he does because I tell him every day.”

Special might be an understatement. The shot-blocking big man is doing it all for the Pacers, and he’s making his case for Defensive Player of the Year. He shut down perhaps the best offensive player in basketball, James Harden, earlier this season, which is just a buried point on the long list of reasons that Turner might be the best defensive player in the NBA right now.

“He did a really good job of being in the right spots. He’s good always,” Harden said of Turner after the Pacers beat the Rockets and Turner blocked Harden three times. “Tonight, he made his impact.”

After years of being a great, but not quite elite, defensive player, Myles Turner appears to has taken the leap into defensive superstardom. He has a coach that deploys an ideal defensive scheme for his strengths, and he is taking advantage by being a roadblock for all challengers. If he is a fortress of this caliber for the entire season, Turner has a stellar opportunity to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

“I’m doing everything in my power and my ability to try and separate myself and show what I’m capable of [defensively],” Turner said. “Indiana has known for years what I’m capable of, but it’s time for the rest of the league to know it and the rest of the nation to know it. So I’m going to continue to be myself and continue to play my game. Hopefully the craft speaks for itself.”

Turner knows how good he has been on defense this season. The numbers know it, too. And the eye test proves how incredible the Pacers center has been. After each big defensive performance, stars around the league give Turner props for his defense. They all know how difficult he is to score on. And soon, everyone will know it. It’s early in the season, but Myles Turner could be on his way to his first Defensive Player of the Year trophy.