Jun 16, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the second quarter of game five of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Bucks’ Myles Turner Reveals Surprising Favorite NBA Player Growing Up

Originally posted on Milwaukee Bucks on SI
By Jason Fray | Last updated Aug 9, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The journey for any professional athlete is largely shaped by their childhood for better or worse.

Encountering an impactful coach could spur a young player on the road to being a professional athlete through belief and hard work.

Playing alongside older siblings or cousins often sharpen a kid's ability to persevere against bigger, stronger players build not only a level of grit, but also unknowingly a mentality to succeed.

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And of course, a player's game can be highly influenced — or even realized — when watching a professional on television or in person.

Cat dad, outdoorsman, and LEGO connoisseur.

Get to know Myles Turner. pic.twitter.com/kw3WDJ9DQa
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 8, 2025

Newly acquired center Myles Turner recently did an interview with members of the Milwaukee Bucks media team. Essentially, it was a "getting to know you" segment where the fanbase can learn to love and appreciate Turner after torturing them for years with the rival Indiana Pacers.

The usual softball questions were asked of the 29-year-old — including his nickname and the person who first got him involved in basketball. Interestingly enough, when asked who his favorite NBA player was growing up, Turner admitted that it was none other than Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

This news isn't all that surprising for several reasons. Turner grew up in the Dallas suburb of Bedford. Bedford is roughly only 25 miles from downtown Dallas. As such, being a basketball fan and given Nowitzki's impact on the Mavericks, the German superstar likely was everywhere in Turner's universe growing up.

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Turner, likely well into his basketball fandom, would've been 15 when the Mavericks won the NBA title in 2011 with Nowitzki leading the way.

While the fandom is understandable, Turner's style of play is actually understandable given how influential Nowitzki clearly was in his game.

BREAKING: Free agent center Myles Turner has agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, plus a player option for year four in 2028-29 and a full 15% trade kicker, sources tell ESPN. Stunner. pic.twitter.com/MlDkZusVOv
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025

Both players hover around the 7-foot mark. Like Nowitzki, Turner would rather float on the perimeter and shoot the ball from beyond the arc rather than bang in the paint. Nowitzki was a considerably better offensive player in all facets from shooting touch to his patented turnaround jumper off one foot.

At the same time, given how Turner plays the game currently as one of the better floor-spacing centers in the NBA today, it's not all that surprising to learn his favorite player was someone who was roughly the same size as him with a similar proclivity for perimeter shooting.