We’re taking a look back at some of the high points from the current Clippers season. Here are the top five moments from Paul George’s 2019-20 campaign (so far.)
Leads Clippers to 110-99 victory in Indiana – December 9, 2019
Paul George made the most out of his first game back in Indiana as a Clipper dropping 36 points including seven three-pointers, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing out five assists to lead the Clippers to victory over his former team.
He did it all while being booed throughout the game by Pacers fans who are not quickly going to forgive their former star player for forcing a trade out of Indiana in the summer of 2017.
George didn’t let the boos get him down, and instead used it to help make the game more interesting, saying “I feed off it. It’s fun, it makes the game that much more fun to compete in.”
He even blamed a bit of a fourth-quarter cold-streak on the fact that the fans boos temporarily quieted down.
After the game, George addressed the boos in a bit more detail saying “And I promise you, I’m not the one to boo. I like being the villain. I’m here (one) night out of the year. The people they should boo are here a lot longer than I am.”
This lead to some speculation about who, exactly, George thought the Pacers fans should be booing in the first place. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst hypothesized that PG was talking about Larry Bird, who forced George to play out-of-position at power forward when he was the GM of the Pacers. The frustration eventually lead to George asking to be traded.
George won’t tell the whole story. At least not yet. “You know, someday I’ll do a tell-all and tell the leading events of how I left Indiana” he said. He chooses to remain cryptic for now, adding “I’m not gonna share the teaser…I like being the villain.”
While George may enjoy playing the villain in his old Indiana home, his days of being the hero in Los Angeles certainly seem like they’re just getting started.