1. Paul George was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft, and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.
58 Facts About Paul George
1. 2.
Paul George was named the NBA Most Improved Player in 2013, when he earned his first All-Star selection and led the team to their first Eastern Conference Finals trip since 2004.
3.
Paul 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.
4.
Paul George 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.
5.
Paul George later signed with the Philadelphia 76ers where he plays as of 2024.
6.
Paul George grew up with two older sisters: Teiosha, who played basketball at Pepperdine, and Portala, who played volleyball at CSU-San Bernardino.
7.
Paul George idolized Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and he grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
8.
Paul George spent most of his free time playing basketball at the park or one-on-one against his older sister Teiosha.
9.
Paul George attended Knight High School and played for Pump and Run of the Amateur Athletic Union where he played with Jrue Holiday.
10.
Paul George ended his senior year averaging 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds.
11.
Paul 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.
12.
Paul George 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.
13.
Paul George played two years at California State University, Fresno, more commonly known as Fresno State.
14.
Paul George led the Western Athletic Conference in minutes played and finished second in 3-point shooting, steals and steals per game.
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Paul George was named All-WAC Second-Team and ranked second in the WAC in free throw percentage, steals and steals per game.
16.
On March 31,2010, Paul George announced that he would forgo his final two seasons of college eligibility at Fresno State and enter the 2010 NBA draft.
17.
Paul George made his first appearance on a 2010 mock draft on Draft Express a month into his sophomore season.
18.
Paul George was invited to sit in the green room during the draft and was selected tenth overall by the Indiana Pacers.
19.
Paul George became the highest NBA draft pick in Fresno State history.
20.
On February 3,2012, Paul 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.
21.
Paul George was selected to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest and Rising Stars Challenge during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend.
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However, with Danny Granger missing nearly the entire season due to knee and calf injuries, Paul George began playing the small forward position and became the go-to offensive option for the Pacers in his third season.
23.
On November 21,2012, Paul George made nine three-pointers en route to a career-high 37 points in a victory against the New Orleans Hornets.
24.
Paul George 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.
25.
That same season, Paul George was selected to play in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston for the first All-Star selection of his career.
26.
Paul 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.
27.
On May 13,2013, Paul George was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
28.
In Game 1 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, Paul George made a three-point field goal at the end of the fourth quarter to tie the game and force an overtime period.
29.
On September 25,2013, the Indiana Pacers extended Paul George's contract, electing him to be their designated player.
30.
In game 4 against the Wizards, Paul George scored a then playoff career-high 39 points.
31.
Paul George quickly went into surgery for the fracture, with a pin being inserted in the leg.
32.
Paul George played out the final six games of the season for Indiana, averaging 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
33.
Paul George competed for the Eastern Conference in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, where he started and was the game's leading scorer with 41 points, finishing one point shy of the All-Star game record set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962.
34.
On July 6,2017, Paul George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
35.
The Thunder acquired him in spite of his pending free agent status the following year and Paul George's stated preference to join the Los Angeles Lakers in his native Southern California.
36.
Paul George made 13 of 22 shots and had nine rebounds and seven assists.
37.
Paul George scored 33 points against the Raptors and went 7 of 10 from 3-point range, tying the Thunder record for 3-pointers in a game.
38.
On January 27,2018, Paul George was named as a replacement for the injured DeMarcus Cousins on Team LeBron for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
39.
Paul George went 13 of 20 from the field, including eight of 14 3-pointers.
40.
Paul George set an Oklahoma City playoff record with eight 3-pointers, making eight of 11 shots from long range, and 13 of 20 shots overall.
41.
Paul George decided weeks before free agency began on July 1,2018, that he would stay with the Thunder, and never arranged a meeting with the Lakers.
42.
The Thunder were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Trail Blazers in five games, with Paul George scoring 36 points in Game 5.
43.
In 13 playoff games, Paul George averaged 20.2 points per game, marking his lowest postseason scoring average since his third season in the NBA.
44.
In online forums, such as the social media website Twitter, Paul George garnered the nickname "Pandemic P," which is an ironic reference to the "Playoff P" nickname that Paul George infamously christened himself with a few years prior.
45.
On December 10,2020, Paul George signed a four-year, $190 million contract extension with the Clippers.
46.
The next day, the Clippers announced that Paul George was diagnosed with a right knee sprain and would be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks, ending his regular season run.
47.
The Clippers were trailing by 13 by the start of the third quarter, and Paul George scored 11 out of the final 14 points for the Clippers.
48.
In game 3 of the first round of the 2024 playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks, Paul George shot 3-of-11 and ended the game with 7 points with 5 fouls in a loss.
49.
The Paul George signing gave the 76ers a star trio of Paul George, center Joel Embiid, and guard Tyrese Maxey.
50.
Paul George missed the first five games of the season after being diagnosed with a bone bruise from a hyperextended knee during the preseason.
51.
Paul George made six three-pointers and surpassed Jason Terry for tenth in all-time three-pointers made with 2,285.
52.
In 41 games, Paul George averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
53.
Paul George entered the league as a shooting guard but was later moved to the small forward position, with the emergence of Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson.
54.
Paul George has established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
55.
Paul George then donated all of his old jerseys to his high school in Palmdale, California.
56.
Paul George once dated the daughter of coach Doc Rivers, who he later cheated on with Rajic.
57.
Paul George signed with Nike as a rookie and had a signature footwear and apparel line from 2017 to 2022.
58.
In 2024, Paul George announced that Nike would re-release his earlier sneaker models.