Paul George just finished a season where he redeemed himself, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The PG slander finished this season after a couple of years of struggles in the playoffs. Ever since he left the Indiana Pacers and joined Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, people started blasting George, calling him an underperformer, and more.
After this postseason, PG13 has regained the respect of plenty of fans, something that he never understood. Following Game 6 of the WCF, George addressed these comments, claiming he never understood why people called him a lousy playoff player.
“The narrative of me not being a postseason player… I never understood it. I’m the same person. I’ve dealt with stuff, as we all do.
Makes me no different than the next man. I came up short again. I’m proud of what we did as a team. My good wasn’t enough.”
"The narrative of me not being a postseason player… I never understood it. I'm the same person. I've dealt with stuff, as we all do. Makes me no different than the next man. I came up short again. I'm proud of what we did as a team. My good wasn't enough."
– Paul George pic.twitter.com/eSAB0vu4DY
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 1, 2021
After self-proclaiming ‘Playoff P’ last season, fans expected a lot from him, only to blow a 3-1 lead in the second round of the playoff. He earned the ‘Pandemic P’ nickname, which lasted until this year.
If we go back in time, we find where all this slander comes from. He was an MVP award finalist in 2019, yet he couldn’t take the Thunder past the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the postseason. His time at the Chesapeake Arena wasn’t successful after the regular season ended, creating a stigma around him.
The swingman proved his doubters wrong and demonstrated he can be the leader of the Clippers, especially after Kawhi Leonard went down with a knee injury. PG13 recovered his best form, and the future is bright for him and his team, although they have big decisions to face this summer.
