LOS ANGELES — Paul George Let go of any ego, and make it plain that Kawhi Leonard Is the LA Clippers‘ No. He is the 1st option in the All Star duo’s pecking list.
George and Leonard are entering their fourth season with championship hopes. He was asked if he or Leonard could use any previous championship wing tandems as a possible blueprint.
“Yeah! Look at the [Miami] DWade Wing-Wing [Dwyane Wade] LeBron [James]George stated this Sunday, following the Clippers’ victory. 119-117 preseason loss To the Minnesota Timberwolves Crypto.com Arena “I think it comes down to — listen Kawhi is No. 1. That is fine by me. I think I try and complement him by being able to take his load off.
“Everybody says, ‘Kawhi [and] You are between 1 and 1. [or] 1A, 1B.’ 1A, 1B.’ Kawhi is the 1. I’m 2. We nipped that part in the bud. It’s like there’s no ego when you think about that.”
This season will be pivotal for Leonard & George. It will be their first trip to NBA Finals as a team since they joined forces on the Clippers last summer.
Leonard described George’s growth as leaders, and how they became a dynamic duo. He referred to their “genuine relation.”
Leonard stated, “We’re both unselfish.” Leonard said that this was his 12th year and mine 13th. He added, “We’re both unselfish.” [into how we lead].”
The Clippers host the Clippers in their season opener Los Angeles Lakers On Oct. 20, they will play their first meaningful match together since Leonard tore the right ACL in Game 4 against Utah in Los Angeles’ second round playoff series on June 14, 2021. George took over the leadership role and led the Clippers into their first ever Western Conference finals appearance without Leonard.
George was the Clippers’ backup until Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season. He then sustained an elbow injury to the shooting arm, which kept him out of action for three months. Due to COVID-19, he returned late in the regular season and missed the Clippers’ final play-in.
George and Leonard played together in 104 regular season and postseason games since their partnership. They are back playing together with George, who has been the Clippers’ most prolific scorer since June 2021. George claims that Leonard is fine with him returning to the position of first choice.
George stated, “I believe in what I can achieve and my talent.” “And I believe every night in what I’m capable of.” My job is to make everyone better. This is what I do on the floor. I want to make it easy for everyone, creating or being aggressive… and making sure that they get the reads.
“I believe that we will get a lot farther if everybody knows what their role is and what our contributions are to the team.” It’s easy to just let the ball roll and get on with it.
George and his teammates agree that Leonard is happy to be back after spending the past 13-14 months strengthening and bulking up his knee. Ty Lue, the Clippers coach, claims that his reserved star is even more open to being a teammate.
Leonard said, “I mean that I missed a whole school year of basketball.” I went down in the worst way, during a playoff run. I don’t want to take anything for granted. Just trying to live in the moment and bring energy to the team.
Leonard, 31 years old, said “I’m still young,” “So any chance that you lose that and you don’t feel done, you know what?