Ring culture has hurt the narrative around some guys. That seems to be the case with Paul George, an elite perimeter defender and, when healthy and locked in, perhaps the most entertaining player on the court, barring just a couple of exceptions. Nonetheless, some fans view George as just a regular-season player due to his lack of postseason success.
But let’s not get it twisted here. Even if he never wins a ring, Paul George is one of the best of the game. He’s posted multiple MVP-caliber seasons throughout his career, and the fact that he was able to overcome a career-threatening injury proves that he was born to play this game at the highest level.
Even without Kahwi Leonard, George has proven that he can lead the Los Angeles Clippers when in need. That’s why today, we’re going to honor one of the best two-way players of the past decade, letting you know everything there is about Paul George, his playing career, and even his net worth.
Paul George – Early Life
Just like many other NBA players, Paul George comes from a family with athletic ties. He was born and raised in Palmdale, California, the son of Paul and Paulette George. He has two older sisters, Teiosha and Portala, who played basketball at Pepperdine and volleyball at CSU-San-Bernardino, respectively.
Just like most young hoop fans from California, George grew to idolize young star Kobe Bryant, rooting for both the Lakers and the Clippers. Bryant’s figure was pivotal in the early years of his career, as he spent most of his free time emulating his moves and playing basketball against his sister.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t until his freshman year at Knight High School that he actually got into organized hoops. Paul George immediately impacted his high school team, becoming the only non-senior on the varsity team, where he spent the final seasons of his high school basketball career. He also excelled at AAU basketball with future NBA All-Star Jrue Holiday, gauging plenty of interest in his county and earning many accolades, including Antelope Valley Press Player of the Year.
Nonetheless, scouts from major college basketball programs weren’t all that interested in George. He was deemed a three-star recruit and wasn’t considered as good as Holiday or DeMar DeRozan. He struggled to find scholarship offers, committing and later committing from Santa Clara and Pepperdine. Eventually, he chose to join Fresno State over other major programs like Penn State and Georgetown, as he was promised a bigger role right out of the gate.
Paul George – College Days
Unlike most NBA stars, Paul George wasn’t a one-and-done player. Instead, he spent two seasons with the Fresno State Bulldogs to improve his game. His scoring prowess turned a lot of heads right away, and his privileged athleticism and emphatic poster dunks helped him make the rounds.
George’s defense continued to improve as the season went by, leading his team to the 2009 WAC Tournament and swiping five steals in a game against Hawaii. Nonetheless, his efforts weren’t enough to lead the Bulldogs past the 1st-seeded Utah State. He was still the best player in the Western Athletic Conference, showing signs of things to come.
Now with national attention, Sports Illustrated ranked him among the “Top 16 Most Entertaining Players in College Basketball” heading into the 2010 season. Once again, he helped the Bulldogs reach the WAC Tournament despite a 15-18 record, averaging nearly 17 points, seven rebounds, three dimes, and a couple of steals per game.
Paul George – Entering The NBA
Following his breakout season in college, George decided to skip the final two years of college and declare for the NBA Draft, drawing mixed reviews among scouts. While some didn’t think of him as a lottery-caliber player due to his small college programs, others believed he was primed to be the steal of the Draft.
After some early rumble about a potential Draft-day trade with the New Jersey Nets, the Indiana Pacers stood pat and took him with the 10th overall pick, becoming the highest draft pick in Bulldogs’ history.
Paul George – Rise With The Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers were Danny Granger’s team, but that didn’t stop Paul George from getting plenty of minutes as soon as he made it to the league, mostly as a shooting guard. He made just 19 starts but filled up the stat sheet more often than not, showcasing his skills as a 3-and-D player and even leading the team in steals per minute. He became a starter by the time the playoffs came, but the Pacers couldn’t get past the Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls.
George held on to his starting spot in his sophomore season. Thanks to his athleticism, he had some flashes of great play, even joining the Slam Dunk Contest, where he came in second despite an iconic 360 windmill dunk. The Pacers beat the Magic in the first round of the playoffs, but the Miami Heat were just too much to handle in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The third season allowed George to shift from shooting guard to the small forward position. The often-injured Granger spent most of the season out with injuries, so George stepped up as the focus of their offense. Averaging north of 17 points per game, he earned his first NBA All-Star selection and earned Most Improved Player honors, as well as making the league’s All-Defensive Second Team. The Indiana Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Hawks and Knicks, but they fell to LeBron James and the Miami Heat again.
With PG now as the de-facto leader of the Pacers, the team chose to sign him to a big contract extension. He broke out as a scorer and led them to a 9-0 start to the season. Frank Vogel‘s team wound up winning 56 games that season and looked like a legit threat to dethrone the Heat in the postseason. However, Miami’s Big 3 would get the final laugh again, with George underperforming in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Paul George – Threatening Injury
Fresh off his first NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, Paul George joined Team USA ahead of the 2014 FIBA World Cup. He then suffered a gruesome and career-threatening injury during an intra-squad scrimmage. He suffered a compound fracture on both bones in his lower right leg, undergoing surgery right away.
Some experts feared George would miss the entire 2014-15 campaign, and most analysts predicted he might never be the same player again after suffering that broken leg. Fortunately, his rehab went right on cue, and he re-joined the Pacers in early April, scoring 13 points in 15 minutes. That would be one of the six games he played for the Pacers that season.
George came back stronger than ever next season. He averaged 23 points per game and was selected to another All-Star Game, helping the Pacers reach the playoffs as the seventh seed. Nonetheless, lacking in talent and with little help, he couldn’t prevent his team from losing to the Toronto Raptors in the first round. Notably, George put his gruesome injury behind him by committing to join Team USA for the Olympics.
The offseason brought several rumors about potential discontent between Georg and the organization. He doubted the team’s interest in surrounding him with enough talent, and he was linked with trade rumors for most of the season. Still, George put in his best efforts throughout the campaign and helped the Pacers reach the postseason, but to no avail. Once again, the Pacers lost to LeBron James, this time in charge of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Paul George – Trade To Oklahoma City Thunder
Sick and tired of the Pacers’ playoff never-ending shortcomings, George forced his way out of Indiana after seven seasons. The Pacers sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo, a risky bet for the Thunder as George had openly stated that he wanted to go back home and sign with a California team.
Next to Russell Westbrook, George took a slight step back in the offense, averaging roughly 21 points per game and focusing on making the most of his defensive skills. The Thunder had a new one-two punch after the Kevin Durant era and they looked like a legit contender out of the Western Conference.
OKC faced off with the Utah Jazz in the first round of the postseason. George set a franchise playoff record with eight three-pointers, having one of the best postseason performances of his career. Nonetheless, the Thunder could never be at its best, facing elimination multiple times and eventually losing in just six games to that same Utah Jazz team.
Tangled up with rumors of a potential signing with the Lakers in free agency, he shocked the world by deciding he’d run it back with the Thunder. George signed a four-year, $137 million deal to continue being Westbrook’s sidekick, and he would go on to have the best season of his career. George averaged a career-high 28.0 points per game and was a leading MVP candidate, but once again, that didn’t translate into playoff success. This time, the Thunder would lose to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, with Damian Lillard knocking down the series-clinching triple over George’s defense.
Paul George – A New Era With Los Angeles Clippers
In one of the most shocking and impactful moves in recent NBA history, the Los Angeles Clippers managed to land both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in a matter of minutes. The Thunder got a massive haul for George’s services, landing five first-round picks, two pick-swaps, Danilo Gallinari, and future franchise cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Clippers looked like the team to beat in the Western Conference, boasting the best duo of two-way players in the Association. Nonetheless, the league’s COVID-induced hiatus didn’t do much to help their case. George got ice cold during the playoffs and was far from the explosive scorer he was the prior campaign, blaming a shoulder injury for his scoring inefficiency.
Eventually, they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs, with George at the eye of the storm for his poor performances. He scored just 10 points on 25% from the floor and his detractors named him ‘Pandemic P,’ a pun referring to the ‘Playoff P’ nickname he had coined. He underwent shoulder surgery in the off-season and endured plenty of criticism.
That didn’t stop the Clippers from signing him to a four-year contract extension. They were once again poised to be one of the toughest contenders in the Association, finishing with a 47-25 record and the fourth-best record in the West. Unfortunately, injuries derailed the Clippers’ playoff aspirations, and not even a couple of masterpiece performances from George prevented them from losing to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals.
With Kawhi Leonard most likely out of the year for the next season, George was called upon to lead the Clippers through adversity and step up as their leader. However, he suffered multiple injuries and was only able to make 31 appearances for Tyronn Lue’s squad. His team finished 8th in the West and fell short of the playoffs, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament.
Now, George and the Clippers are expected to be back to full strength for the 2022-23 campaign and give the reigning champions Golden State Warriors a run for their money. Barring another string of major injuries, the Clippers should have no trouble going deep in the postseason and maybe even reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Paul George – Awards And Accolades
Even though he’s far from done, Paul George has already put together quite an interesting rĂ©sumĂ©. Right now, it looks something like this:
- 7x All-Star
- All-NBA First Team
- 5x All-NBA Third Team
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team
- 2x NBA All-Defensive First Team
- 2x NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- 2013 NBA Most Improved Player
- 2019 NBA Steals Leader
- Second-Team ALL-WAC
Paul George – Net Worth
Over the 12 seasons he’s been in the NBA, Paul George has grossed $217,199,510 in salary alone, not counting endorsements. He’s currently in the third season of his deal with the Clippers, making $39,344,900 last season.
Notably, he’s still owed $136,920,496 over the next three years, as he’ll make $42,492,568 in 2022/23; $45,640,165 in 2023/24; and $48,787,763 in 2024/25. That’ll take his career earnings to a whopping $354,120,006, per Sports Reference LLC. Nonetheless, Celebrity Net Worth estimates his total net worth at around $90 million. That number will be go way up once it’s all said and done.
What is Paul George Known For?
Besides his basketball skills and being one of the best perimeter defenders in the world for the past ten seasons or so, Paul George has made the rounds for controversial news. For starters, he infamously cheated on Doc Rivers’ daughter with a stripper, who he ended up marrying. Ironically, Rivers was later his coach with the Clippers, and he got into an altercation with Seth Curry, who’s now married to his former girlfriend.
The small forward also got into a bit of a back and forth with Damian Lillard, stating he had taken a ‘bad shot’ over him in the playoffs. Lillard knocked down a three-pointer from half court to send the OKC Thunder back home, so bad shot or not, he made it. That dispute led to Lillard’s sister and George’s wife getting into a social media scuffle.
If that wasn’t enough, George infamously named himself ‘Playoff-P’ and claimed to be ‘back in MVP form’ despite never winning an MVP award and historically underperforming in the postseason, which is why some fans see him as a regular-season player. That prompted mockery and criticism among NBA fans and even some of his colleagues, with Charles Barkley stating that he would never refer to himself as ‘Championship Chuck.’
Last but not least, George became famous even among non-basketball fans for the gruesome injury he suffered during Team USA’s scrimmage. That’s considered one of the most shocking injuries in the history of professional sports. Fortunately, he was able to overcome it and go back to playing this beautiful game.
George is one of the best in the game. He can guard multiple positions and is one of the most efficient scorers in the league from all three levels. He’s been playing at a borderline-MVP level for years now, and hopefully, he’ll win the ring he needs to make his critics give him the respect he deserves once and for all.
