Paul George’s all-time teammate list was filled with OKC Thunder
Paul George’s time with the OKC Thunder, in the grand scheme of things, was relatively short-lived. George played just two seasons in Oklahoma, just 156 games total.
George’s impact on the team during that time was noticeable. Named to the All-Star team in both seasons, he averaged 25.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists throughout those two seasons. His defense was superb, leading the league in steals per game (2.2) in the 2018-19 season.
Though his time with the team was short, his all-time list of teammates still features plenty of Thunder relative to the amount of time he spent in OKC.
Paul George has OKC Thunder teammates on his all-time list
Speaking to Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles on the Knuckleheads podcast, Paul George was asked to build an all-time roster around himself with only players he’s been teammates with.
George went on to choose two different Thunder players.
"“Four players that I played with? Hm. Man, alright. Russ for sure at the one, I’ll go me at the two, Kawhi at the three. I could go Melo or [David] West at the four, and Big Roy [Roy Hibbert] at the five.”"
So, the lineup ends up coming out like this:
- Russell Westbrook (4-time All-Star)
- Paul George (6-time All-Star)
- Kawhi Leonard (4-time All-Star)
- Carmelo Anthony (10-time All-Star/David West (2-time All-Star)
- Roy Hibbert (2-time All-Star)
That’s two Thunder player out of the four possible slots George had to work with in Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, despite just two of his 10 total seasons having been played with the Thunder.
George, as we know, re-signed with the Thunder in 2018 on a four-year maximum contract deal. He seemed to genuinely want to be in Oklahoma City, only leaving because an opportunity too good to pass up came up with Kawhi Leonard on the LA Clippers.
While you hope that a player will commit to your team long-term, it’s hard to fault George for wanting to bounce to his home-state team and be closer to family. Plus, George has remained active in the OKC community even after his departure.
That, and the Thunder got a boatload of draft picks in the deal that sent him to LA.
No matter what, the Paul George era for the Thunder will be one of the best, and still one of the biggest “what-ifs”, but his teammate selection shows just how well built that squad was.