Former Celtics NBA Champion Rips Pacers Fans Over Myles Turner Booing
The NBA season is only two weeks old, but Indiana Pacers fans aren’t having a good time.
After losing Tyrese Haliburton to a devastating Achilles tear during Game 7 of the NBA Finals in June, the Pacers’ bad luck has carried over into this season. They’re 1-6 to start the year, tied for the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference entering play on Wednesday.
Indiana fans appeared to take out their frustration on former Pacer Myles Turner, booing him during his tribute video before Monday’s home game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Turner, who left the Eastern Conference champs to sign with the Bucks over the summer, didn’t appreciate the boos, saying this after the game:
“It was disheartening, man — it was frustrating. You give 10 years of your life, your blood, your sweat, your tears. You take pay cuts, you survive trade rumors…”
Former NBA player Scot Pollard defended Turner on social media, calling out Indiana fans on X. Pollard spent three seasons with the Pacers from 2003 to 2006 before winning the 2008 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics in his final season.
“Sorry Pacers fans but hear this: I left when Pacers didn’t sign me. I went to the Cavs/NBA finals. Then Celtics and a ring. Ive been booed in that building since. Can’t boo when your organization makes decisions and the player did what was best for himself and his family=moved on,” Pollard wrote on X.
Based on Pollard’s similar experience, Turner isn’t the first ex-Pacer to feel the wrath of Indiana fans, and he may not be the last.
By comparison, Celtics fans have typically treated their former players warmly, with the glaring exception of Kyrie Irving, of course.