40. Paul George
50 WORDS ON PAUL GEORGE
Paul George made basketball look expensive: smooth jumper, long strides, effortless handle, immaculate footwork. He could score thirty, erase your best wing, and somehow never appear hurried. The injuries changed his trajectory, the playoff jokes changed the conversation, but the aesthetic remained. Few stars ever made difficulty look so casual.
CAMPFIRE ERA STATS
Main line: 20.5 PPG / 6.2 RPG / 3.7 APG / 1.7 SPG / 0.4 BPG
Longevity: 945 regular season games / 125 postseason games
Era Ranks: 8th in three-pointers / 17th in total steals / 22nd in total postseason points
CAMPFIRE ERA ACCOLADES
2012-13 Most Improved Player, 9-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA, 4-time All-Defense, 1 top-five finish in MVP Vote
THE PEAK
2018-19 - George averaged a career-high 28.0 points, plus 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals, made First Team All-NBA and First Team All-Defense, and finished third in both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting.
This was Paul George at maximum capacity: elite volume scorer, high-level three-point shooter, devastating transition player, disruptive defender, and legitimate MVP candidate. Other seasons may have been cleaner aesthetically or more successful in the playoffs, but no version of George did more things at an elite level at once.
WTF STAT
Finished 1st in steals, 2nd in points and 3rd in three-pointers made during the 2018-19 season.
NON-BASKETBALL COMPARISON
A Five-Tool Baseball Player - Not defined by one overwhelming skill, the value is that there’s almost no part of the game where he’s a liability. That’s Paul George. He could score, shoot, handle, defend, rebound, and play off the ball. The completeness was the superpower.
THE RIPPLE
Paul George became one of the defining examples of the modern star wing as a portable archetype.
He could create off the dribble without monopolizing the offense, shoot at high volume, defend elite perimeter scorers, play either forward spot, and function as either the best player on a team or the ideal second star next to another creator. George didn’t invent that role, but his career helped make it one of the most coveted player types in basketball: the big wing who can scale up or down without fundamentally changing who he is.
His influence is less about one specific innovation and more about roster-building logic. Every contender wants a player who can do what Paul George could do because his skill set fits almost anywhere.
WHAT HIS PEERS SAY
“He’s my favorite player in the league… Just so smooth, man. He can do it all: pass, rebound, defend, post up, shoot the ball.” - (Kevin Durant, 2016)
IN HIS OWN WORDS
“I know my pace, I know my game and what’s comfortable for me… And defensively I know every angle. I do my homework.” - (Paul George, 2019)
ROLL THE TAPE
THE BEGINNING
THE SKILL
THE PERFORMANCE
THE ARTIFACT
