Paul George

Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the All-NBA Team, as well as a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team.

George played high school basketball for Knight High School before playing two seasons of college basketball for the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Recruiters began noticing George during the summer of 2007, while he competed in AAU tournaments.

Sensing George's potential, his coach handed him a leading role his senior season.

That year, George led Knight to the Golden League championship, and was named the Golden League Most Valuable Player, the Antelope Valley Press Player of the Year, and a member of the Daily News 2007–08 All-Area Boys' basketball team.

He ended his senior year averaging 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds.

Despite his accomplishments, George was not considered a major prospect by colleges.

Rivals.com labeled him as a three-star recruit and ranked him 20th among a class of California prospects that was highlighted by Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan.

George verbally committed to Santa Clara, the first school that offered him a scholarship, but he later de-committed from them because his high school coach thought he should keep his options open.

After a positive experience attending Teiosha's Midnight Madness event at Pepperdine University, George committed to Pepperdine on August 9, 2007.

Midway through his senior season, he de-committed from Pepperdine after coach Vance Walberg resigned from the program.

He ultimately chose Fresno State over offers from schools like Georgetown and Penn State because it was closer to home which allowed for his family to watch his games and because he liked the campus.

George played two years at California State University, Fresno, more commonly known as Fresno State.

In his first game with the Bulldogs, he scored 14 points in a winning effort against Sacramento State.

The following game, George recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort against Saint Mary's. Despite the loss, he made an impression with his one-handed slam dunk over Mickey McConnell that earned him SportsCenter's number 1 "Play of the Day" for November 18, 2008.

On February 9, 2009, he scored a then career-high 29 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 88–82 victory over Boise State.

In the 2009 WAC tournament, the Bulldogs were matched up against Hawaii and advanced to the quarterfinal against the top-seeded Utah State Aggies.

During the game, he forced a career-high 5 steals and finished with a team-high 16 points; however, despite his effort the Bulldogs lost, 85–68.

With a 13–21 record, the team failed to qualify for the 2009 NCAA tournament.

He led the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in minutes played (1,176) and finished second in 3-point shooting (44.7%), steals (59) and steals per game (1.74).

His 3-point field goal percentage was the third-best in the Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball program.

He started all 34 games and finished the season averaging 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 47.0% from the field.

Entering his sophomore season, he was named the most entertaining player in the West region and the eighth most entertaining player in college basketball by Sports Illustrated in their list of the "Top 16 Most Entertaining Players in College Basketball".

He was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft, and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.

On January 21, 2010, he sprained his right ankle against Utah State and missed the next four games.

He made his return on February 11, scoring a career-high 30 points in a winning effort over eventual WAC tournament champion New Mexico State.

During the 2010 WAC tournament, he recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds, but his team lost to Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals.

The team finished the season 15–18, with George averaging 16.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 steals while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the line.

He was named the NBA Most Improved Player in 2013, when he also earned his first All-Star selection.

George suffered a broken leg in 2014 while competing for a roster spot on the United States national team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

He missed most of the 2014–15 season, but recovered to become an All-Star again in 2016, when he also won an Olympic gold medal.

He was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017, and played two seasons for the Thunder before he was traded to the Clippers in 2019.

George was born in Los Angeles County in Palmdale, California, and is the son of Paul George and Paulette George.

He grew up with two older sisters: Teiosha, who played basketball at Pepperdine, and Portala, who played volleyball at CSU-San Bernardino.

George idolized Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and he grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

George spent most of his free time playing basketball at the park or one-on-one against his older sister Teiosha.

He attended Knight High School and played for Pump and Run of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) where he played with Jrue Holiday.

George attended Knight High School in Palmdale.

As a sophomore, he began the season on the JV team, but was moved up to the varsity after the season started.