Paul George has grown to realize strength in numbers leads to NBA titles

Paul George realized that he alone isn’t enough.

As an Indiana Pacer, George was the unquestioned Alpha Dog, taking the bulk of the shots. And that was just fine — so he thought.

“In a selfish way of pushing myself to be great, I wanted the team to be mine,” he said. “I wanted to be compared to guys that [were the No. 1 options on] their teams.

“But then again, going through it and having injuries and going up against a competitive and well-balanced and superstars in Miami, you can’t do it alone. You need star power. You need firepower. Not to say that I didn’t have that in Indiana, but you do figure out that this is the challenge to win a championship being a lone star.”

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The Heat, featuring future Hall of Famer LeBron James along with Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, beat the Pacers in the 2013 and 2014 Eastern Conference finals.

That’s why George re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on July 6, 2018 to continue his All-Star tandem with Russell Westbrook one year after being traded there. It’s also why he welcomed a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers on July 10, 2019, to play alongside Kawhi Leonard. And it’s among the reasons he signed a four-year, $211.5 million contract with the 76ers. He formed an All-Star trio with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

“I couldn’t win a championship alone so that trade with Russ was the first time realizing or being the first time thrown into like playing off another superstar and sharing the ball and sharing the workload,” George said, “and then learning from that going into the next season.

“Learning from that experience of what it’s like playing alongside another star to where I was like ‘Alright, now I’m with Kawhi. I know what it’s like playing off someone else that’s just as special and talented. So work on all the little things.’ What does it mean to win and doing whatever it takes to win whether I’m the star or the second option and I think it was just kind of realizing that throughout my career of what that looks like.”

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While George was also unable to win a title in OKC and L.A., his presence makes the Sixers one of the favorites to win this season’s championship.

In addition to being a nine-time All-Star, George is a six-time All-NBA selection and four-time All-Defense pick. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals last season. He shot a career-best 41.3% on three-pointers.

Maxey averaged career highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7), assists (6.2), steals (1.0), and minutes (37.5). He scored a career-high 52 points in a double-overtime road victory over the San Antonio Spurs on April 7. Maxey had two other 50-point outings: 51 points in a road victory over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 1 and 50 points in a home win over the Pacers on Nov. 12.

And, when healthy, Embiid is arguably the league’s best player.

He has averages of 27.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 3.4 turnovers in 488 career games. Embiid is a seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, three-time All-Defense pick, and two-time scoring champion.

“I think for me, I think Joel has played with a wing and guard play being elite at all levels,” George said. “I think this is the first time I’ve played with an elite point guard and elite big man all at once. For us, it’s just countering off each other. Nothing’s forced for one person to kind of take that load again. We can kind of share that responsibility, but I see us flowing. I see us flowing.”

George thinks he, Embiid and Maxey can all play the game within the game.

He points out that Embiid is dominant in the paint and on the perimeter. He says that Maxey is amazing in transition and in a half-court setting.

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“So having the floor spaced around him and myself, being able to play off a big man and play in transition with Tyrese, I think all three of us can flow and make the game easy for all of us,” George said. “I love sharing the ball and I love being aggressive to score. So I kind of think all three of us look at the game the same way.”

The 34-year-old, who’s entering his 15th NBA season, has matured as a player since being picked 10th in the 2010 NBA draft.

“I think it’s just the nature of the game, right?” George said. “For a young guy coming into the league I think being placed in Indiana, you want to define and figure out who you are in the NBA. I always saw myself being one of the best players in the league and wanting to be in that category. So initially, I wanted to be the man, right?”