LONG BEFORE HE impressed Michael Jordan throughout a summer time exercise forward of the Charlotte Hornets deciding on him second general within the 2023 NBA draft, Brandon Miller found his “GOAT” whereas looking YouTube.
Rising up in Antioch, Tennessee, Miller stumbled upon movies of a smooth-shooting star with limitless vary, the flexibility to soar for not possible dunks, impeccable footwork and the knack for making huge performs.
Whereas others in his era idolize LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and even Stephen Curry, Miller’s position mannequin is stunning.
“I simply by no means actually studied LeBron,” Miller advised ESPN. “I do not knock LeBron. We all know LeBron’s the GOAT [for many others], finest participant for certain. However that was by no means my goal to review LeBron or research Kobe.
“Paul George is the perfect participant in my eyes … I do not actually watch anyone else so far as attempting to get their strikes down. Paul George is my GOAT.”
When Miller first made that gorgeous declaration forward of the 2023 NBA draft, it prompted ridicule from social media and pundits. However he is not alone in revering the 33-year-old whose accomplishments in 14 seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and the LA Clippers embody 9 All-Star appearances, two All-Defensive first-team picks and an All-NBA first-team choice.
The 6-foot-7 Miller is a part of a rising record of youthful gamers who view the 6-8 Clippers wing — and never James or Curry, whom a lot of Miller’s era has tried to emulate — as the proper NBA archetype. George’s mix of dimension, talent and smoothness is inspiring a brand new era of tall wings — from highschool and NBA courts to the digital hardwood of NBA 2K.
“It is type of how the league is constructed now,” Miller stated. “Paul George is the suitable individual to review for this era.”
Even veterans with a championship ring like Denver Nuggets ahead Aaron Gordon discover themselves analyzing and copying George’s arsenal of strikes.
“He has some actually nasty s— in his bag,” Gordon advised ESPN. “I took a step-back from him. He drops it via his leg, again to the identical hand after which jabs you. He steps again and that s— is nasty.”
It is a fashion of play that even has impressed one other pattern — on-line movies created of George highlights set to the R&B groove of Erykah Badu’s “Did not Cha Know” as an ode to George’s smoothness.
“He is so {smooth},” Minnesota Timberwolves middle Karl-Anthony Cities, one among George’s closest buddies within the league, advised ESPN. “His recreation is so fluid. He can do all the pieces on the courtroom. He has an amazing post-up recreation, fadeaway, both shoulder, step-back, going both means.
“Psssshhh, he can do all the pieces.”
GEORGE FIRST BEGAN to note extra of what he referred to as “that subsequent wave of men” approaching him throughout his 2015-16 season in Indiana.
“Coming into that yr is the place I slowly began to listen to, ‘Yo, you are my favourite participant. I look as much as you,'” George advised ESPN. “My come up is the place the younger era began to type of gravitate in direction of me.”
Throughout that point, few gamers might get by defenders higher than George, who ranked fourth in blow-by share from 2015-16 to 2018-19. In that very same span, George confirmed he might run an offense as his groups averaged 1.15 factors per possession when he introduced the ball up the ground, inserting him seventh amongst gamers, in line with Second Spectrum.
Gordon, who helped the Nuggets win the NBA Finals final season, credited an encounter with George throughout the 2016-17 season for enhancing his method to breaking down defenders.
Throughout Gordon’s third season with the Orlando Magic, he discovered George after a regular-season recreation towards the Pacers. George turned what’s routinely a short assembly right into a uncommon tutorial on the courtroom, displaying Gordon the best way to decelerate, change the tempo of his drives and manipulate defenders along with his dribble strikes. George noticed how defenders had been guarding Gordon’s crossover and instructed the ahead on the best way to swap up his cadence and make opponents chill out earlier than attacking once more.
“I used to be making all my strikes at one velocity,” Gordon stated. “And he advised me, you’ll be able to go quick and decelerate… That’ll lull folks to sleep after which you’ll be able to go by.”
George’s willingness to share a few of his abilities demonstrates what an Japanese Convention entrance workplace government advised ESPN this season: he is somebody that different franchise gamers speak about eager to play with due to his easygoing temperament and complementary all-around recreation.
“Paul is likely one of the coolest ball gamers within the league,” Gordon stated. “He is actually influential. Each time we performed towards one another, he would simply give me little tips of the commerce, little pointers right here and there.”
Clippers guard Brandon Boston Jr. stated he would repeatedly watch a 42-minute video of highlights from George’s Pacers days as a highschool junior. He’d memorize crossovers, hesitation and different strikes, after which try them on the evening of his highschool video games.
“That is the place I realized the best way to create an area with out pushing off and doing an offensive foul,” Boston advised ESPN earlier than pointing to the George spotlight video taking part in on his telephone. “For those who ever see me snatch again, if you happen to ever see me hesi-cross, I received that from PG.
“I really feel like lots of people watched Paul as a result of he is like a 6-8 Kyrie [Irving].”
CARMELO ANTHONY HAS a idea about George’s rising recognition amongst younger gamers. In any case, his son Kiyan Anthony, ranked No. 45 in ESPN’s 2024 high 60 recruiting class, additionally listed George as his GOAT.
“You speaking in regards to the mould of [George’s size], can deal with, can shoot, a sniper, a killer,” Anthony, the retired 10-time All-Star who was George’s teammate in Oklahoma Metropolis in 2017-18, stated on his podcast in December.
“Why do you suppose plenty of youngsters right now are speaking about PG? It is no disrespect to no one, it is simply that is the mould of if you create your participant on 2K.”
That is why an avid gamer like George has acknowledged many attempting to clone him as their individually created characters inside the sport’s digital metropolis the place avid gamers collect on-line to improve their characters and play pickup video games.
“I’ve come throughout guys that made gamers that appear to be me,” stated George, who created his personal participant, which occurs to be a 6-2 level guard. “They’re going to be wings and have all of my likeness, my strikes. They’re truly fairly good at it.”
In line with 2K, George is the fourth-most-popular NBA participant template within the recreation’s “MyCareer” create-a-player mode, behind Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Dallas’ Irving and Boston Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum.
“The blokes that deal with the ball are all the time prioritized by our gamers,” Ronnie Singh, NBA 2K head of life-style and content material advertising who is best generally known as “Ronnie 2K,” advised ESPN.
“PG being there and never being a main ball handler is fairly fascinating. I believe it actually speaks to him being that Swiss Military knife… there are those that play our recreation that need to do all of it… All people needs to attempt to rating from all ranges.”
Nuggets veteran level guard Reggie Jackson, who has shared the courtroom with George each in actual life and just about, says George is a cheat code in each worlds.
“He is the construct,” Jackson advised ESPN. “The way in which his recreation is tailor-made, all people needs to create that kind of participant. … He is as soon as in a lifetime.”
GROWING UP IN South Carolina, GG Jackson wished to be as {smooth} as George, however not even a contemporary pair of Nike PGs might cover some awkward moments as a child.
“I received picked on in center faculty,” Jackson, a Memphis Grizzlies rookie, advised ESPN. “Every single day, I both wore some [Under Armour] Steph Currys or I had Paul George’s footwear on with the strap on high. I might be within the hallways making the squeak noise.
“After which I had goggles on.”
However Jackson — who’s the youngest participant within the NBA at 19 years, three months and 9 days — discovered inspiration in George’s Pacers highlights.
“He would do loopy in-game dunks,” Jackson stated. “He had the 360 windmill and various things like that. After which the viral clip the place he caught it again at half courtroom, he advised the dude to attend after which he pulled it [against the Detroit Pistons].”
“Paul George is likely one of the most full gamers,” Jackson, who additionally tries to mannequin his recreation after Jordan, James and Kevin Durant, stated. “I haven’t got his wiggle simply but, simply his dimension. He has plenty of wiggle.”
Throughout his lone collegiate season at South Carolina, the 6-9 Jackson stated he would try a few of George’s strikes throughout his video games — with little success.
“Among the reckless photographs I might take, it could be in his [style],” Jackson stated. “A pull-up 3 or a tricky fadeaway. I attempted it out. It did not actually go my means.”
Drafted final summer time with the No. 45 choose and signed to a two-way contract, Jackson break up the primary a part of his rookie season between the Grizzlies and their G League affiliate. Forward of a Jan. 12 recreation towards the Clippers, Jackson had hoped he’d be referred to as up so he might watch George and meet him in individual.
Not solely was Jackson referred to as up, he was surprisingly pressed into motion. Throughout the third quarter, Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane injured his ankle on a foul and was unable to shoot free throws. Clippers coach Ty Lue was ready to decide on Bane’s substitute on the line and picked Jackson, who hadn’t entered the sport and had by no means tried an NBA free throw.
Jackson missed the primary free throw however transformed the second, ending with 4 factors and 5 rebounds. In the meantime, George dropped 37 factors and buried 7 of 10 3-pointers within the Clippers’ 128-119 win.
Afterward, Jackson ran over to fulfill his longtime idol.
“I attempted to let him know who I used to be,” Jackson stated. “And that in a couple of yr or two, I’ll construct a reputation for myself such as you guys. I advised him how he was one among my favorites.”
Since that assembly with George, Jackson has averaged 15.3 factors per recreation and turn out to be a shock first-year standout throughout a misplaced yr for the injury-ravaged Grizzlies. Along with his 27 factors within the Feb. 8 loss to the Chicago Bulls, Jackson grew to become the youngest participant to attain not less than 25 factors off the bench since Bryant in 1997.
When the Grizzlies and Clippers performed once more on Feb. 23, Jackson, who had signed a normal contract the day after that 27-point recreation, needed to remind himself to not get caught up taking part in towards George.
“‘OK! You bought to lock in! It’s important to lock in!'” Jackson stated of his method to guarding George. “I’ll attempt to creep into him, not let him dance round.
“As a result of if he sees you not eager to press up on him, that is a home-cooked meal.”
ALMOST AS SOON as Miller made his pre-draft declaration about George, the veteran’s telephone started buzzing with messages about what Miller had stated. George reached out to Miller following the viral feedback.
“Folks had been making enjoyable of him, about me being his GOAT,” George, who introduced Miller on his podcast and now texts recommendation to the rookie, stated.
“And I simply needed to inform him, ‘Man, be you. Embrace how you are feeling.’ It is about who conjures up you. I do know what he meant by it. Clearly, I am not the best of all time to ever play this recreation.”
George is aware of all too properly what it is wish to be a punch line. He has been hammered for his “Playoff P” moniker and lack of main postseason success. When the Clippers blew a 3-1 result in Denver within the 2020 playoffs contained in the Orlando bubble, George revealed the trolling on social media despatched him into despair.
“It was years and years of stuff that I had no management over,” George stated. “Folks made enjoyable of moments the place I used to be injured within the playoffs, however I used to be attempting to play via it.
“The bubble expertise might be the worst [criticism] that I’ve heard. Simply because the magnitude of it, and I felt I used to be simply compelled to drown and dwell in that area. There was nothing else, no different retailers to get away from it. In order that was most likely the worst of my profession.”
Miller and Jackson stated that his vulnerability and openness additionally make George relatable to younger gamers like themselves.
“All of the gamers within the league are type of on this journey collectively,” Jackson stated. “He stated he was getting trolled on the web and various things. I’ve felt like deep down, they had been me like, ‘Ah, this draft choose, he is probably not doing [it]. It is going to take plenty of time.’
“I really feel like that is how I can relate to him.”
When requested in late October about how A.J. Dybantsa — the top-ranked participant within the 2025 ESPN 60 recruiting class — referred to as George one among his favourite gamers to emulate and work out with, George advised reporters how it’s a “cool second in my profession for somebody that is been dragged via occasions.”
“It is good to know that you’ve folks in your aspect,” George advised ESPN. “Against those that need to mock the profession that I’ve had.
“You simply by no means know what extent that my outreach will probably be. You are speaking about youngsters world wide, about Kiyan, whose father is a Corridor of Famer. It is totally different, the youngsters and demographics that I’ve reached… like, rattling, I did not know I had that type of impact.”
