Paul George
Paul Clifton Anthony George Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the All-NBA Team, as well as a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team.
George played high school basketball for Knight High School before playing two seasons of college basketball for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft, and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors. He was named the NBA Most Improved Player in 2013, when he also earned his first All-Star selection and led the team to their first Eastern Conference Finals trip since 2004.
George suffered a broken leg in 2014 while competing for a roster spot on the United States national team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup. He missed most of the 2014–15 season, but recovered to become an All-Star again in 2016, when he also won an Olympic gold medal. He was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017, and played two seasons for the Thunder before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019. The Clippers appeared in the playoffs four times during his tenure, including their first trip to the Conference Finals in 2021. George later signed with the Philadelphia 76ers where he plays as of 2024.
Early life
George was born in Los Angeles County in Palmdale, California, and is the son of Paul George and Paulette George. He grew up with two older sisters: Teiosha, who played basketball at Pepperdine, and Portala, who played volleyball at CSU-San Bernardino. George idolized Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and he grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. George spent most of his free time playing basketball at the park or one-on-one against his older sister Teiosha. He attended Knight High School and played for Pump and Run of the Amateur Athletic Union where he played with Jrue Holiday.High school career
George attended Knight High School in Palmdale. As a sophomore, he began the season on the JV team and was moved up to varsity after the season started. Recruiters began noticing George during the summer of 2007, when he competed in AAU tournaments. Sensing George's potential, his coach handed him a leading role his senior season. That year, George led Knight to the Golden League championship, and was named the Golden League Most Valuable Player, the Antelope Valley Press Player of the Year, and a member of the Daily News 2007–08 All-Area Boys' basketball team. He ended his senior year averaging 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds.George was not considered a major prospect by colleges. Rivals.com labeled him as a three-star recruit and ranked him 20th among a class of California prospects that was highlighted by Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan. George verbally committed to Santa Clara, the first school that offered him a scholarship, but he later de-committed from them because his high school coach thought he should keep his options open. After a positive experience attending Teiosha's Midnight Madness event at Pepperdine University, George committed to Pepperdine on August 9, 2007. Midway through his senior season, he de-committed from Pepperdine after coach Vance Walberg resigned from the program. He ultimately chose Fresno State over offers from schools like Georgetown and Penn State because it was closer to home which allowed for his family to watch his games and because he liked the campus.
College career
George played two years at California State University, Fresno, more commonly known as Fresno State. In his first game with the Bulldogs, he scored 14 points in a winning effort against Sacramento State. The following game, George recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort against Saint Mary's. Despite the loss, he made an impression with his one-handed slam dunk over Mickey McConnell that earned him SportsCenters number 1 "Play of the Day" for November 18, 2008. On February 9, 2009, he scored a then career-high 29 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 88–82 victory over Boise State. In the 2009 WAC tournament, the Bulldogs were matched up against Hawaii and advanced to the quarterfinal against the top-seeded Utah State Aggies. During the game, he forced a career-high 5 steals and finished with a team-high 16 points in a loss against the Bulldogs to a score of 85–68. With a 13–21 record, the team failed to qualify for the 2009 NCAA tournament. He led the Western Athletic Conference in minutes played and finished second in 3-point shooting, steals and steals per game. His 3-point field goal percentage was the third-best in the Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball program. He started all 34 games and finished the season averaging 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 47.0% from the field.Entering his sophomore season, he was named the most entertaining player in the West region and the eighth most entertaining player in college basketball by Sports Illustrated in their list of the "Top 16 Most Entertaining Players in College Basketball". On January 21, 2010, he sprained his right ankle against Utah State and missed the next four games. He made his return on February 11, scoring a career-high 30 points in a winning effort over eventual WAC tournament champion New Mexico State. During the 2010 WAC tournament, he recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds, in a loss against Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals. The team finished the season 15–18, with George averaging 16.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 steals while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the line. He was named All-WAC Second-Team and ranked second in the WAC in free throw percentage, steals and steals per game.
On November 10, 2019, George's number 24 was retired by Fresno State.
Professional career
Indiana Pacers (2010–2017)
Pre-draft and rookie season
On March 31, 2010, George announced that he would forgo his final two seasons of college eligibility at Fresno State and enter the 2010 NBA draft. He made his first appearance on a 2010 mock draft on Draft Express a month into his sophomore season. By May 2010, mock drafts such as Draft Express, ESPN.com, and The Hoops Report predicted that George would be selected 12th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies. Two days before the draft, Marc J. Spears from Yahoo! Sports wrote an article about an anonymous Eastern Conference scout stating that "in five years, Paul George will be the best player to come out of this draft". Hoping to draft Derrick Favors, the Pacers had discussed a draft trade with the Nets that would have sent Danny Granger and the 10th pick to the Nets for Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian and the 3rd overall pick, but the deal fell through. George was invited to sit in the green room during the draft and was selected tenth overall by the Indiana Pacers. He became the highest NBA draft pick in Fresno State history. On July 1, 2010, he signed his rookie contract with the Pacers; a two-year guaranteed deal worth $3.9 million, with team options for a third and fourth year.On October 27, George made his NBA debut against the San Antonio Spurs, playing 23 minutes and scoring 4 points on 1–5 shooting. In a game against the Washington Wizards, he knocked down five three-pointers and finished with a then-career-high 23 points. George averaged 7.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists on 45% shooting in his first season, starting 19 of his 61 games. For the 2011 Playoffs, George was one of only two rookies from the 2010 NBA Draft to be in the starting lineup for his team, the other being Landry Fields for the New York Knicks. In the playoffs, the Pacers lost in five games to the Chicago Bulls, led by Derrick Rose. Upon completion of his inaugural season, George was named to the 2011 NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
2011–12 season
On February 3, 2012, George recorded 30 points, 7 three-pointers made, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 1 blocked shot in a win against the Dallas Mavericks. George was selected to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest and Rising Stars Challenge during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend. In the Slam Dunk Contest, George completed a 360° windmill dunk in the dark and dunked over teammates Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert. The windmill dunk is when a player brings the ball below their waist and with an outstretched arm swings the ball into the rim. However, he lost the contest to Jeremy Evans. He finished the 2011–12 lockout-shortened season with averages of 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 44% shooting, George started all 66 games for the Pacers in the season. After beating the Orlando Magic, who were without Dwight Howard, in five games in the first round, the Pacers lost to the eventual NBA champions, the Miami Heat, 4–2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with George making just 19 of 52 field goals.2012–13 season
During his first two seasons in the NBA, George played mostly the shooting guard position. However, with Danny Granger missing nearly the entire season due to knee and calf injuries, George began playing the small forward position and became the go-to offensive option for the Pacers in his third season. On November 21, 2012, George made nine three-pointers en route to a career-high 37 points in a victory against the New Orleans Hornets. The nine 3-pointers broke the franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a single game, surpassing Hall of Famer Reggie Miller. George was named the NBA's Player of the Week for the first time in his career in December, winning three straight games against Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Detroit. He recorded his first career triple-double in a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on February 13, 2013, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals. That same season, George was selected to play in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston for the first All-Star selection of his career. He recorded 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists on 7-of-13 shooting in 20 minutes for the East in a loss against the West, 143–138. George averaged career highs of 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and was the only player in the league with at least 140 steals and 50 blocks. At the conclusion of the regular season, he was named the NBA Most Improved Player.In Game 1 of the Pacers' 2013 NBA playoffs first-round series versus the Atlanta Hawks, George recorded his first career playoff triple-double, tallying 23 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a 107–90 win. It was the first postseason triple-double by a Pacers player since Mark Jackson had one in the 1998 playoffs. On May 13, 2013, George was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. George led the Pacers with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks on May 14, 2013, in a 93–82 victory. In Game 1 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, George made a three-point field goal at the end of the fourth quarter to tie the game and force an overtime period. During overtime, Dwyane Wade fouled George with 2.2 seconds remaining. Despite George making all 3 free-throws and putting his team up 102–101, the Pacers ultimately lost as LeBron James drove in for a buzzer beater lay-up. The Pacers lost to the Heat in 7 games. To cap off a great 2012–13 campaign, George was named to the All-NBA Third Team.