Paul George

George attended Knight High School in Palmdale. As a sophomore, he began the season on the JV team, but was moved up to the varsity after the season started. During his junior year, he was the only non-senior on the varsity team starting lineup. Recruiters began noticing George during the summer of 2007, while 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.

Despite his accomplishments, 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 of greater opportunities for playing time.

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 SportsCenter’s 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; however, despite his effort the Bulldogs lost, 85–68. With a 13–21 record, the team failed to qualify for the 2009 NCAA Tournament. He led the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in minutes played (1,176) and finished second in 3-point shooting (44.7%), steals (59) and steals per game (1.74). 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, but his team lost to 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 (90.9%), steals (64) and steals per game (2.2).

On November 10, 2019, George’s number 24 was retired by Fresno State.

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. He was named the NBA Most Improved Player in 2013, when he also earned his first All-Star selection. 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 Clippers in 2019.

NBA.com lists George’s height as 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m), while The Indianapolis Star reported in December 2011 that he grew 2 inches (5.1 cm) to 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m). He 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. Stephenson’s improvement as a facilitator and distributor in the backcourt allowed George to play off the ball more often during games. Early in his career, he was unable to create shots for himself and lacked a great deal of ball handle, something he worked on with trainer Jerry Powell during the 2012 off-season. With All-Star swingman Danny Granger injured during the 2012–13 season, George took on a larger offensive responsibility, which resulted in the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

George has established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. In addition to his athleticism, he has developed a reputation as a high-flyer by participating in the 2012 and 2014 Slam Dunk Contest. Following the Pacers’ win over the Denver Nuggets on February 10, 2014, Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw, called George “the best two-way player in the game”. George’s rapid improvement led Pablo S. Torre of ESPN to dub him the NBA’s most anomalous superstar, while stating: “Has anyone in the NBA ever become better, faster than Paul George?”

In August 2014, it was announced George had changed his uniform number from 24 to 13, giving him the more marketable moniker of PG-13. He then donated all of his old jerseys to his high school in Palmdale, California.