Paul George has been one of the league’s top players for years, and it will be interesting to see how the Indiana Pacers view their time with him.
The popular PG13 is returning to the scene of his success. This year’s NBA All-Star game is being played in Indiana, where George spent a full seven seasons. During his time with the team, he made six playoff appearances and was named the Most Improved Player in the league for one season. The question arises whether the Indiana Pacers might retire his jersey. If you ask George, he doesn’t believe that will happen.
“Honestly, you think about the guys, there’s only what, [four] guys that’s retired there. But when you think about, again, the guys that are up there, Reggie, what, 18 years? I think for them it’s a longevity that stands out in that arena. I just didn’t play enough play long enough there.
If they look back years and years down the line, just how special that group was while I was there… Hopefully, Tyrese can get them there. But if they don’t get to where we got to in 15, 20 years, then they might look at that as a special time. Tyrese will do great things there and hopefully they surround him with talent to get him to where he needs to get to. And then it won’t even be a thought to get my jersey up there.”
NBA All-Stat veteran Kevin Durant certainly thinks that George’s time at the Pacers was impactful.
“Nowadays we get the fans who get to let their voices be heard a little bit more. They only value players that play for them for the duration of their career. In some respect, if you weren’t good enough and you somehow move on, that’s when you get respect amongst the fanbase. But if you leave and you’re still pretty good then that takes away from what you did there.
In Paul George’s case, he wanted to leave so people forget about his time there. He’s a Pacer legend. Pacer great. All-time great in Pacer history. So hopefully they show him some love.”