Ten years. That’s how long Myles Turner gave to Indiana, but on Monday night, that loyalty was met with boos. The Bucks may have escaped with a tight 117–115 win, but the loudest story came from the stands. Turner, now in Milwaukee green, finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and more blocks than the entire Pacers team with 5.

It was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, it turned into a scene Turner himself called “disheartening.” When asked about the reaction, he didn’t sugarcoat it. “It was frustrating, man. You give 10 years of your life, your blood, your sweat, your tears, you take pay cuts, you survive trade rumors, you try to do everything the right way… and sometimes none of that stuff shakes out.”

The boos rolled in even during his tribute video. For a player who had become a symbol of Indiana stability through rebuilds and false dawns, it stung. “I take it on the chin,” Turner said. “A lot of people want to formulate their own narratives and spin it to whatever they want it to be… but it is what it is. Like I said, you take it on the chin and move on.” And move on he did.

Cameras caught Turner enacting what looked like closing a book. A nod to his time with the Pacers, and more importantly, the chapters he’s yet to write with his new team in Milwaukee.

Turner came out blocking 4 shots and scoring 7 points in the first quarter, as if each cheer that didn’t come was an additional reason to push harder. “Oh, yeah. Absolutely, bro,” he laughed when asked about it. “I always play my best basketball when people are talking against me, booing me… it woke me up if anything. You have to channel that energy, turn that negative into a positive.” But the most striking part came when asked about the video tribute.

His voice softened: “I was getting booed. I don’t really know how you want me to shake it out. It was a mix of emotions… obviously a nice gesture by the organization, but you’re sitting there trying to collect your thoughts. This is the first time I’ve been in a situation like this.”

The man who once called Gainbridge Fieldhouse home sounded both wounded and wise. In his last season in Indiana, Turner averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 48.1% shooting.

This season in Milwaukee, those numbers have dipped to 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 39.3% so far. But Monday wasn’t about stats. It was about sentiment. Doc Rivers, though, wasn’t letting it slide.

“You can boo me all you want,” the Bucks coach told reporters. “But Myles gave you 10 years. I was really disappointed tonight… Myles wasn’t looking to leave. Myles was made available. There’s a big difference. For a guy to give a franchise 10 years and the crowd treat him like that, I’ve always had this crowd in high regard. I was really surprised by the reaction.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Turner’s new teammate, made it clear he had Turner’s back amid the hostility. The gestures you mentioned happened at two key moments during the game.

First instance (first half): after a thunderous poster dunk on a Pacers defender, Giannis turned to the booing crowd, put his thumbs down, and sarcastically booed them right back- to show solidarity with Turner and mock the fans’ treatment of him.

Second (and most dramatic) instance (buzzer-beater): With the score tied at 115 and 0.3 seconds left, Giannis hit a fadeaway jumper over two defenders to win it. As his teammates mobbed him, he first put a finger to his lips to shush the stunned crowd. Then, breaking free, he gave a double thumbs-down and booed them again, explicitly as a nod to how they’d disrespected Turner all night.

Turner didn’t demand a trade. He signed a four-year, $108.9 million deal with Milwaukee after being left off Indiana’s long-term plans. The same Indiana Pacers who beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs the past two years are now watching one of their own get booed for moving on. 

But if Indiana closed the chapter, Milwaukee is writing him a new one. Inside the Bucks locker room, it wasn’t just Turner feeling something special that night.

Myles Turner finds new loyalty in Milwaukee

“Anytime you play a former team, it’s always important in NBA locker rooms to win that game for your brother,” Kyle Kuzma said after the win. “We were just happy GA hit that shot because we did not want to lose this game for Myles, for sure.” He paused, thinking about the human side of it.

“Just being a human and being emotional, and uh, think about him. He’s been here 10 years, probably had a lot of hardship, a lot of great moments. He first came into the lead when he was a little boy, right?” he said.

Kuzma then continued, “So, you have a lot of feelings naturally and emotions, but he handled it really well… You know, he couldn’t ask for a better, you know, return home revenge game.” Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, didn’t hesitate to make Turner feel like part of Milwaukee’s fabric.

“Immediately,” he said. “The moment he wears a Bucks jersey, the moment he comes to the facility, he’s one of us. Simple as that.” When asked if there ever was trash talk between them over the years, Giannis smiled.

“No, he was always high character… The moment he joins the team is he’s you know part of our family now. Now we going to go for battle for him and no matter when he’s in a tough situation, we’re all in a tough situation, we’re going to have his back.”

Ten years in one city, not even ten months in another, and somehow Turner’s story has come full circle. Maybe this wasn’t about boos at all. Maybe it was about who keeps clapping when the crowd doesn’t.