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Myles Turner Shares Secret Behind Thunder, Pacers NBA Finals Runs

Turner believes the Thunder and Pacers' runs to the Finals spell the end of the NBA's superteam era.

Tim Capurso

The secret to the Thunder and Pacers' runs? Friendship.
The secret to the Thunder and Pacers' runs? Friendship. / David Richard-Imagn Images
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The NBA Finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers is not just a showdown between teams that seem to be on the come-up, but it's also, in the eyes of Pacers big man Myles Turner, the sign of an end of an era in the league.

Turner, speaking to reporters after the Pacers' Game 6 triumph over the New York Knicks, believes the continuity and young nucleus of his club—and Oklahoma City's—is the reason for the run to the Finals.

"I think it's a new blueprint for the league, man," Turner said. "I think the years of the superteams and stacking, it's not as effective as it once was. Since I've been in the league, this NBA is very trendy. It just shifts. But the new trend now is just kind of what we're doing, OKC does the same thing. Young guys, get out and run, defend."

"And use the power of friendship is how they call it."

Certainly both the Pacers and Thunder have provided numerous examples as to the power of team chemistry and close relationships with teammates. But, as Turner alluded to, the front offices of both franchises deserve credit for figuring out how to build rosters in the new landscape paved by the NBA's 2023 collective bargaining agreement. The new CBA was essentially designed to level the playing field, imposing harsher tax penalties on teams that exceed the luxury tax, or so-called "second apron." Such an apron has rendered star-hunting a futile endeavor.

And whether it's the Thunder's path of stockpiling draft picks and cultivating a young core, or the Pacers' method of wheeling-and-dealing to bring together a cohesive unit, it's clear that both teams are thriving in the new age of roster-building.

Call it the power of friendship, the power of financial wizardry or whatever you want to call it. Either way, it's not too surprising to see that the Thunder and Pacers are the teams left standing when looking through the lens of roster construction.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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