The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers share an intense, bitter rivalry that only grows each time they play. No one expects either side to be friendly across enemy lines.

That doesn’t mean such antagonism should extend to individual players who cross over in their own best interests. Such is the case with Myles Turner, who Monday night was met with boos by the same Pacers fans who cheered for him during his 10 years there.

If they were cheering him on, after all, and not too busy packaging him into mock trades every season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose buzzer beater gave the Bucks a 117-115 win, sympathized with Turner for his hostile reception. He also had a message for Pacers fans who seemingly did not appreciate what Turner gave them in his decade with the franchise – a franchise too cheap, it should be noted, to pay him anything near his fair market value in free agency.

Giannis sticks up for his teammate of seven games in face of hostile Pacers crowd

“I’m just going to say this for Myles, because maybe he didn’t say it for himself,” Giannis said postgame. “The average span of a player is I think 4.5 years. He had 10 years of service in one franchise. … [Indiana’s] all-time blocks leader, to be booed? For sure, he might not say anything, it kind of hurt. But we are here to pick him up. … We understand how much he gave to the team for Indiana and how much he is willing to give for Milwaukee.”

Turner did not have the best of potential revenge games, going for only nine points and seven rebounds on 3-for-7 from the field. He did block five shots, however, amid a defensive resurgence with the Bucks after slipping from peak form the last few years in Indiana.

With a +7 in the box score, trailing Giannis by a point for the team lead, he still did enough to contribute to the victory. He’ll have to find a consistent 3-point shot soon, but his winning efforts are appreciated in Milwaukee.

“I played against him 10 years,” Giannis continued. “I think he gave everything he had. Blood, sweat, tears, his body. Anybody that was booing him today … just think about yourself. Put yourself in that position, working in your 10 years, and all of a sudden you decide to make a move for your family, for yourself, because you have different goals, different aspirations for life, and then you go back and your coworkers and your boss is yelling at you and booing you, you’re kind of like, ‘Man, what the hell.’ I know it’s sports, I understand, but sometimes it’s bigger than sports. It is bigger than sports.”

One summer and seven games into Milwaukee career, Turner already has the steadfast support of his teammates, the organization, and the fanbase. He has made a conscious effort to get to know the city, the customs, and the people in it. He hasn’t forgotten about the fans in Indiana. He has done his best to let them know that he appreciated them during his time there. The crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse made clear that the feeling is not reciprocated.

“I don’t know if he’s going to say, but he’s going to go back home, and he’s going to be like, ‘Okay, 10 years just went down the drain.’ Like, that’s not fair to anyone who gave 10 years to the game and to the Pacers.”

For More Great Wisconsin Content

Follow me on X at @ezsniper14 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!