Clippers star Paul George has made a living in the NBA for being one of the best 3-and-D wing players available. For his career, the L.A. swingman is averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game on 45.6% shooting, and those numbers have been even better for the Clippers.
But scoring didn’t always come so naturally for the 8x All-Star. As he recently explained on his podcast, becoming a reliable shooter was a process, and he wasn’t very good at it initially.
“I think I finished the season shooting like 20-something percent my rookie year from behind the three-point line. I was the guy that was wide open,” said George. “I was taking these shots and the team used to be like ‘what are you doing?!’ I remember Danny Granger was mad at me one time for taking a shot and I was like ‘I’m wide open.’ And he was like, ‘why do you think you’re wide open?’ You know when you ask the question to yourself and it’s like… ohhh. They’re leaving me open cause I ain’t making them. It bothered me bro, that sh*t messed me up. That summer, I started working with my legendary shooting coach and he had me shooting from range with heavy balls. I’m shooting like there pound balls from the NBA three-point range… I started getting better, I found out okay this is a good routine for me. My percentage started getting better and I started getting more confident getting more reps up.”
Paul George talks about his journey to becoming an elite 3-point shooter. 🔥✊
(via @PodcastPShow)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 21, 2023
PG shot just 29% from downtown for his rookie season and averaged 7.8 points per game. It would end up being his worst season by far, as he’d make the NBA All-Star team just two seasons later.
Fast forward to today, and PG is in the middle of another stellar season for the Clippers, and there is real hope that he can become a major factor in the upcoming playoff race.
Can The Clippers Make A Title Run?
After making his 8th NBA All-Star team this February, Paul George proved that he is still among the elites of the NBA. With Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Clippers have a talented core of veterans who they hope can carry them to new franchise heights.
The path will not be easy, but if Kawhi and PG are at their best, the Clippers are a tough out against anyone.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
