Myles Turner Gets Honest About Being a Veteran for the Bucks This Season

The Milwaukee Bucks have changed a lot since center Myles Turner joined them in the summer of 2025, and he knows that puts more on his plate this season.

Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat this offseason, head coach Taylor Jenkins took over for Doc Rivers, and Turner now has more years in the NBA than anyone else on the roster.

Turner told CBS 58 reporter Cameron Ezeir in a clip posted Tuesday that people have seen him as a leader since around his fourth or fifth year in the league, but this is the first time he has the most years on the team.

He said he plans to use his voice and his experience to lead the group, and he added that there are good things and bad things that come with being a leader.

He followed that up by saying, "I'm ready to take on everything that comes with that. It's going to be great nights, it's going to be bad nights, and everything in between."

The leadership role has been his since the summer, according to Turner, and he wants to be a professional every day by being one of the first players in the building and one of the last ones off the floor.

His job on the court is changing as well, since he is being asked to crash the glass more than he has in the past and expects to make more plays with the ball at the top of the key.

I like Turner in this role because of who is around him.

The Antetokounmpo trade brought back guard Tyler Herro, center Kel'el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and guard Kasparas Jakucionis, and the roster also has rookies like guard Brayden Burries and forward Nate Ament who have never played a full NBA season.

A group like this needs someone who has played through long seasons, and Turner has been in the league for more than a decade.

He said earlier this month that he wanted to move forward with this new group, and his words this week show he wants to lead that change.

Turner also sees himself as a big man who stretches the floor, and that fits what this roster needs. Milwaukee has even tried him next to Ware in the starting frontcourt this preseason, which gives Turner a chance to help a younger center grow.

He is not the only one buying in, since forward Kyle Kuzma has also talked about taking to the new system under Jenkins.

The Bucks are 1-3 in the preseason, and Turner sat out Wednesday's loss to the Chicago Bulls along with most of the regulars as a coach's decision.

Milwaukee closes the preseason Friday at Indiana, where Turner was the longest-tenured Pacer before he signed with the Bucks.

The regular season starts Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Washington, and the home opener is Friday, Oct. 23, against Chicago.

Turner already said there will be bad nights, and I expect a few early, but I will judge his first month by how much more sure of themselves Ware and the rookies look.