Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time and meeting him for the first time is special for anyone, including NBA stars.
Paul George met Jordan for the first time during All-Star weekend in Toronto in 2016, when he was out for dinner at a restaurant.
“I’m looking and I’m like damn I think that’s MJ,” George said on the latest episode of Podcast P. “Towards the end of the night, we’re checking out to leave… He came over and said something to me. He was like, ‘Keep going young fella, I love your game, keep going.’ Basically giving me my props and I was just like cool. His hands were big as hell like on some Kawhi (Leonard) s***, hands big as hell.”
(starts at 54:05 mark):
Jordan certainly had some big hands, which allowed him to grab the basketball with just one hand. Those big hands were the reason why Phil Jackson said Jordan would beat Kobe Bryant in a 1-on-1.
As for George, it was a moment he won’t ever forget and it meant a lot to him that Jordan took the time to compliment him. He would go on to dominate in the All-Star game later on, as he had 41 points, finishing one point shy of what was then the record for most points scored in the game, which was set by Wilt Chamberlain.
Paul George Spoke On His First Time Playing Against His Idols
While meeting Jordan for the first time was a very pleasant experience for George, playing against his idols didn’t quite go so well. George stated on his podcast that he didn’t want to make Tracy McGrady look bad when he played against him but when he went up against Kobe for the first time, Bryant elbowed him in his ribs!
Kobe wasn’t the kind to take it easy on anybody and it isn’t a surprise that he went right after George in their first meeting. It got PG going as well and Bryant definitely would have liked to see the youngster come right back at him.
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