Bucks center Myles Turner returns to Indiana and is booed in his first game against his old team

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers honored longtime center Myles Turner with a pregame highlight reel Monday night.

Fans responded with a loud chorus of sustained boos.

Turner had hoped for a warmer reception from the city he called home for the first decade of his pro career, but in his first game in Indianapolis as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks he received boos that persisted each time he touched the ball.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle predicted before the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.that Turner would "get a warm reception, which he deserves.”

But Turner didn't hear his first cheers until he missed his first throw, less than two minutes into the game.

Turner’s fans turned on him for leaving in free agency in July.

Turner's odd day began with a morning shootaround inside the same building he played, practiced, soaked in hot and cold tubs and, of course, had his locker.

Turner thought he'd experienced nearly every possible environment he could imagine inside Gainbridge, including in the NBA Finals and watching the NBA All-Star Game. Then came the Monday morning shootaround and suddenly one of the longest-tenured Pacers in team history found himself traversing new places.

“I was joking with the guys I’ve never even seen the visitor’s locker room, that I didn’t even know what it looked like, so definitely just a different territory to say the least," he said after the shootaround. “I've never been on this side of things.”

Word of Turner's surprise departure leaked less than two weeks after All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles tendon in the first half of a Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City and after management had already said re-signing Turner was the offseason priority.

Instead, Pacers fans got hit with a double whammy — losing Haliburton for the entire 2025-26 season and then losing Turner to a team the Pacers have faced 21 times over the past two seasons, including first-round playoff matchups each of the past two years. Indiana won both of those postseason series.

“I’m sure it’s kind of an emotional thing for him,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “I’m just saying as far as playing basketball, yeah, I’ve done it and it’s a lot easier doing it as a coach. You get fired, go back, pretty easy.”

But it's what Turner did since then that prompted Monday night's response from the same people who roared for him just a few months ago despite the ups and downs of last season's playoffs.

Some were merely upset Turner took the four-year, $107 million contract — what Turner claims was $40 million more than the Pacers offered — and ran. Others became disillusioned with his post-signing comments such as wanting to play for a team that would remain competitive this season or in a city that would “celebrate him.”

Turner has tried to clarify those comments and took another chance Monday to address his real intentions just hours before facing his former team, the defending Eastern Conference champs.

Apparently, Pacers fans have neither forgotten nor forgiven the Texan who won two NBA blocks titles.

“I'm glad we're talking about this up front, man,” he said. “In no way was I talking about this city, was I talking about my time here. None of that. They say all the time this league's a business, and I got my first real taste of what that business (during the offseason). Obviously, you've got to take the emotions out of it. So, no, it didn't change the way I felt (about) here. Now ownership and the front office, that's a different story.”

With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Turner leading the way, Milwaukee is 4-2 and tied with Detroit for the third-best record in the East. Without Turner, Haliburton and nearly half of the Pacers' opening-day rotation because of injuries, only New Orleans and Brooklyn have fewer wins than Indiana (1-5).

If Turner knows anything about this Pacers roster, which has had only two key changes since he was on it last season, it's not to write off short-handed Indiana, especially on that court he called home for a decade after Larry Bird drafted him in the first round. Even then, Bird thought Turner was the best pure shooter on the team.

But even with a new uniform and a different jersey number, Turner insists Indianapolis has a special place in his heart.

"I think it’s obviously going to be mixed reviews, mixed feelings, mixed emotions,” he said. "But for me, it’s always going to be love, man. I spent so much time in this environment. It’s one of the best sports environments to come play in in my opinion and they’ve held true to that. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing the fans that I’ve known for the past 10 years. It's going to be fun.”

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