Pacers’ Myles Turner shares dad’s coronavirus battle

MANILA, Philippines – Unlike other NBA stars who simply need to stay at home, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner had to personally deal with the coronavirus off the court after his father, David, tested positive just a week before his birthday.

The Pacers’ defensive anchor, who just turned 24 last March, shared his family’s experience in battling the virus.

“It was a rough patch for a couple of weeks,” Turner said in an online interview. “My dad initially got the virus about a week from my birthday.”

“He got it very early before all the frenzy kinda start to happen. He had all bunch of symptoms, which are fever, chills, pneumonia. Had to get him to hospital, initially they said he got the H1N1 then sent him back home. Then he started feeling worse, they sent him to a different hospital, they tested him right away and said he had corona,” he added.

Turner said his father was put in isolation and received rapid treatment from the hospital.

“It took a while. He’s in oxygen for a little bit but he’s better now,” said Turner. “It was definitely scary at the time.”

Still, Turner got the lucky side of the coin.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl Anthony-Towns also had a personal experience in battling the virus. But Towns’ mother, Jacqueline, passed away due to coronavirus complications on April 13.

Before the league shut down on March 11, the Indiana Pacers were sitting pretty at the 5th spot in Eastern Conference with 39-26 record. 

Reports say the NBA is planning to reopen practice facilities for teams as early as May 8 in states that will lift the stay-at-home orders.

But despite his eagerness to get back on court, Turner said there are legitimate concerns and emphasized the need to follow the guidelines from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“I most definitely want to play; just the competitor in me” he said. “I just think the way this has affected me and my family, I see why there may be precautions to not play this year. I hope that’s not the case. I want to play, but I see why we couldn’t play.” – Rappler.com