What to Make of Myles Turner's Season

There was much celebration when the Milwaukee Bucks swiped an NBA Finals starter from a division title, a feeling that the Bucks had filled the center hole that formed as Brook Lopez aged.

So wasn't Myles Turner supposed to do more than this?

Turner's first season of a four-year $109 million contract -- which could shrink by a season if he opts out after three -- hasn't been as impactful as expected. And now, as the season winds down and the Bucks appear trapped in no man's land between the Play-In and the lottery, Turner has seen his minutes reduced.

After averaging 30 in October, and then again in November, and after averaging 28 in both December and January, he averaged 25 in February and has averaged just 20 in March. He hasn't topped 23 in any of the five games this month, four of them losses. As Doc Rivers pushes -- so far pointlessly -- to get his team into the Play-in bracket, he's leaning on his veteran center less and less.

Myles Turner — Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

And it's hard to know whether that has been justified based on Turner's pedestrian play or whether it has made that play even worse. Turner is averaging just 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in March, while shooting 31.4 percent from the floor.

Rivers has turned more often to Jericho Sims in key spots, not that the Bucks have had many, as they've been blown out often of late.

Doc Rivers, on why he closed with Jericho Sims: pic.twitter.com/PpR3O8lZtk
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 8, 2026

When asked why Rivers closed with Sims over Turner, he said, "I thought you watched the game. You know the answer. I mean, he defends. He's switchable. And I said it before the game, he can really pass the ball. He makes great decisions. I just thought tonight was his night. You play him."

That's his prerogative.

But Sims is at the start of a two-year minimum contract, which pays no more than $5 million over the two seasons, should he opt into his option in the offseason. The Bucks don't have an investment in Sims that equates with the one they have in Turner.

Turner is averaging 12.2 points, which isn't that far off his career average -- but he's averaging just 5.4 rebounds, anemic for a center, a continuation of his struggles in the Finals, and his lowest of all of his 11 seasons. And while he's held up from three-point range, at 38 percent, he's converting less than last season at the rim.

This is now a lost season -- and to be fair, Turner was brought in to complement Giannis Antetokounmpo and his numbers are somewhat better when Giannis plays. But this is not enough from someone taking that chunk of the salary cap, especially when the Bucks are handcuffed by the Damian Lillard waive-and-stretch they executed to sign Turner.

He needs to close the season strong, or else there will be many questions this summer.