The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2019. Since then, they have received untold benefits from that trade -- and Paul George has even now, in 2025, proved to be the gift that keeps on giving.
Hanging in the rafters in Oklahoma City is a 2025 NBA Championship banner, and the Thunder earned it in large part because of the Paul George trade. They moved on from a recent MVP finalist to pivot into a rebuild, and because the Clippers were desperate to add George in order to secure Kawhi Leonard's arrival, they seemingly agreed to every demand that Sam Presti made of them.
The centerpiece of the deal was a rookie guard from Kentucky, one Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and he has grown into the MVP of the league. Coming alongside SGA was a bevy of draft picks; the Thunder have used those picks to draft Jalen Williams -- the All-Star running mate for Gilgeous-Alexander -- add other talent, or trade around the draft board.
Paul George is still giving to the Thunder
One pick remains from the Paul George trade, and it could be a doozy. The Los Angeles Clippers, a dark horse pick in the preseason to push the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West, have looked creaky and slow to start the season. The oldest roster in the league is acting their age, and they are miles away from where they wanted to be.
Through 14 games the Clippers are just 4-10, jostling with other disappointing teams at the bottom of the Western Conference (well, the non-Pelicans bottom). They have the league's 22nd-best net rating and are 29th in pace, with a bottom ten offense and defense. There is plenty of season left to be played, but there is a very real chance that they end up in the lottery once more.
If so, they will pass that pick on to the Thunder, who own the Clippers' unprotected 2026 first-round pick. There is currently about a six percent chance that the Clippers could leap up and take the No. 1 pick, and a 1-in-4 chance they move up into the Top 4. The possibility of AJ Dybantsa or Cameron Boozer playing for the Thunder next season is incredibly real.
Yet Paul George is not done giving to the Clippers. He has left the team, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2024. He just made his season debut on Monday night -- against these very same Clippers. George and the 76ers did their part, winning 110-108 to push LA even further down the standings -- and the Thunder's pick even higher up the lottery ladder.
Given the injuries and failures of the Clippers since trading for Paul George, and the insanely large return the Thunder have received from that initial trade package, it has to go down as one of the best trades of all time. Sam Presti fleeced the Clippers, and it's all thanks to Paul George.
For at least one more year, he remains the gift that keeps on giving.