INDIANAPOLIS —It’s easy to tell when Paul George is comfortable.
He was clearly comfortable being back in Indianapolis during All-Star weekend. “Seeing familiar faces, going to eat at restaurants and still, you know, seeing some familiar faces since I’ve been here...” George said. “Honestly, it’s a lot of love still here. I’ve always said that.”
He was obviously comfortable playing NBA 2K and hanging with Onesimo Roberts — a lifelong NBA fan, a high school teacher and basketball coach from Louisiana whose favorite player is George — who won AT&T’s NBA Dream Experience for All-Star Weekend and got to hang with George as well as go to the Saturday night and Sunday events. “I’m always comfortable playing 2K, and he and I have a similar background, so it was just natural. We connected.”
And he’s comfortable with these Clippers.
When asked if the vibe felt different around this version of the Clippers compared to some of the other very good teams he’s been on, George said “yes” almost before the question was finished.
“All four of us are at sort of the same place in our career, we’re seeing things the same way,” George told NBC Sports about himself, fellow All-Star Kawhi Leonard, plus James Harden and Russell Westbrook. “We’ve made money, we’ve gotten the accolades and awards, now we’re focused on one thing, the same thing.
“We all just want to win.”
In the wake of the blockbuster trade for James Harden, the Clippers have emerged as the biggest threat to Denver in the West and as a legitimate title contender. Since Dec. 1 the Clippers are 28-7 with the best offense in the NBA (122.8 offensive rating, via NBA.com) and a +6.6 net rating. They are playing a selfless brand of basketball led by a two-time Finals MVP in Leonard, who is playing MVP-ballot-level ball this season.
The Clippers’ success surprised many pundits who saw it as a desperate move that would blow up in the team’s face. George said he never really listened to that “noise” because he knew this could work.
“Management came to the three of us, let us know what was going on and asked about it, and we all said ‘do it.’ We wanted it,” George told NBC Sports. “We thought James’ game would fit. Yeah, it was a little rough at first, but we settled into it, everyone sacrificing to make it fit. It just worked. …
“Everybody has sacrificed. It wasn’t something that had to be asked. We knew what we had to do.”
George also expressed a real pride about this being a Los Angeles born and raised team. It may have sounded like a marketing slogan right after the trade, but all four stars bought into it — they are repping grassroots Los Angeles basketball. All four Clippers stars grew up in Southern California, played on asphalt outdoor courts, then high school and AAU ball here, and feel tied to the city, the region and its roots. It’s something George brought up unprompted.
“We’re representing L.A. All of us grew up around the city and the area, were tied to it, and want to rep it,” George said. “This is Los Angeles basketball, we feel a real pride in showing that.”
Whether that is enough to keep George in Los Angeles remains up in the air. He has a $48.8 million player option for next season and could choose to become a free agent, although he has said previously the “goal” is to reach terms of an extension with the Clippers and stay in Los Angeles. Leonard signed a three-year, $149.7 million extension recently, the Clippers would like to keep Leonard and Harden on roughly that same timeline.
That contract was not at the front of George’s mind in Indianapolis.
All-Star weekend for George meant representing the Clippers, but like for most players it also means a whirlwind of sponsor events — shoe brands and other companies the player endorses have set up events where the All-Star is the main attraction. It was no different for George, who was doing events with AT&T throughout the weekend, from judging a dunk contest with content creators being streamed by AT&T to meeting fans at the company’s setup at the NBA Crossover event.
George was comfortable, looking at home through all of it. It’s his ninth time being an All-Star and, just like on the court, he’s seen it all before and is comfortable just being himself, playing his game. Louisiana teacher Roberts said he didn’t know what to expect meeting his idol, but George made it easy, and when it was done, Roberts called it “one of the best experiences of my life” (even if George beat him handily, playing as the Clippers). George, an avid gamer, told AT&T he wanted to lean into that part of the business, and they helped, right down to helping him design custom controllers (George also has custom PlayStation-inspired signature Nikes.)
“My PS5 goes everywhere with me. It’s the first thing I pack for a trip,” George said.
The Clippers hope — and George believes — he will be packing up that PS5 for trips in late May and hopefully June.
“We know we got something special.”
