By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WITH all National Basketball Association activities suspended until further notice because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner is making the most of the forced downtime by staying productive and active.

Last played in March when the league moved to suspend the season after one of its players contracted the highly contagious respiratory disease, Mr. Turner, 24, said just like the rest of the league he misses playing but understands that they have to take a backseat for now in light of the current situation with the coronavirus, which already has 3.5 million confirmed cases worldwide and 1.18 million in the United States alone.

But despite not being able to do his thing with the Pacers, Mr. Turner is finding other ways to keep himself busy while awaiting their possible return to the NBA floor, including, among other things, shoring his knowledge in yoga and finance.

“I’ve been doing yoga. And learning about finance lately, learning about the stock market and it has been fun learning stuff,” said the Pacers stalwart in a media conference call, the video file of which was shared by the league to BusinessWorld.

“I’ve been doing yoga for three to four years now. I started taking it seriously a couple of years back. For me personally, it helps in injury prevention. It helps me focus and in my breathing,” said Mr. Turner, who was averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 55 games before the 2019–20 season was suspended.

“It’s workout outside of lifting weights. I mean, you can lift all the weights you want but you also have to have muscle functionality. And that’s what yoga brings for me. And, more importantly, I’m having fun doing it,” he added.

Reading, too, is something Mr. Turner has been doing with the free time he has, including those concerning finance, which he admitted to not having a lot of knowledge of in the past.

“The biggest thing [among those I’m reading] is the stock market, I think it is something I never really got into. You have an app on your phone and you see these things on the ticker. I see a lot of that but I did not really know what they meant. I still have a lot to learn about it but I have been getting the data and learning how the money works and how it affects the economy; and how my finances work for me. How it works on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

DEALING WITH COVID-19
Mr. Turner also shared that COVID-19 hit his family firsthand after his father, David, contracted the disease.

He said the episode was rough for them, knowing what his father went through. But he noted that everything is going well now for his father.

“Everybody is doing fine now. Initially it was a rough patch. My dad initially got the virus, a week before my birthday. I don’t know how he contracted it. He got it early before everything got crazy. They did a lot of stuff on him. He was in the hospital for a week and was in isolation. He’s better now and I’m glad. I’m close to my dad. He put the ball in my hands. And he made a lot of sacrifices for us,” he said.

As to the resumption of the season, as a competitor Mr. Turner said he would love to return playing but recognizes a lot has to be considered to make it happen.

“There a lot of legitimate concerns. The NBA just has to follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As we have seen, this disease affects families and it would not go away without vaccines. The competitor in me wants to play but I see why people have a lot of concerns,” he said.

He went on to say that if the season does continue, he likes the chances of the Pacers.

“I’m optimistic of our chances. A lot of things can happen. We are one of the teams that can create much noise when play resumes,” Mr. Turner said.

The Pacers were sitting at fifth place in the Eastern Conference when the season was suspended with a 39–26 record.

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