“Honestly, you think about the guys, there’s only what, [four] guys that’s retired there,” George said. “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.”
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“People still give me love,” George said. “It’s one of those things where they are very scared to say it in your face. But when it’s a crowd and I can’t pinpoint and find out who’s booing, they’ll do it. But when I’m out in the streets, if I’m at a restaurant, it’s one on one, it’s, ‘Oh we miss you. Come back.’ I hear that, but it’s still love here. Some of the organization people I’m forever grateful to and I’m happy to have crossed paths with them in my career.”
by sewsgup
32 Comments
PG farewell tour on the Pacers one day
At least he’s being realistic.
Meanwhile, Carmelo is complaining how the Nuggets weren’t planning on retiring his number after the prolonged Melo-Drama saga that preceded his exit from Denver.
I think he’ll get his jersey retired. Not anytime soon but 20+ years down the line or so
Self Awareness P
Not like he left on good terms either.
PG on this pacers team would be pretty lit tbh
Does any team ever retire his jersey?
This isn’t even a question lmao
I love PG, he’s still my favorite player of all time and I throw on a Clippers secondary flair every now and then cause of him. He’s a big part of why I became a fan of the sport. I know he didn’t leave on the best terms but he gave our front office chances to go get another true star and we just wouldn’t do it. At least he netted us 2 All Stars in return, one of which eventually turned into Hali, so I’ll be forever grateful. That’s why I’ll never understand fans that hate on him for how it ended but salivate every single time Oladipo’s washed and selfish ass becomes available. Definitely deserves his number retired, he’s our only homegrown superstar in decades, but I understand if they don’t.
Will the Pacers retire Danny Granger’s number?
I’m a firm believer that barring a long history or winning a championship, if you ask out of a franchise to be traded unless extreme circumstances – you essentially give up the right to get your jersey retired. But at least PG got a good ass return for IND, rather than screw them over like Melo did.
Pensative P
PG keeps it realer than just about any NBA star and I love it. He calls out bullshit when it happens, he doesn’t bullshit about himself, and he stands by shit he says and believes even if the internet gets angry over it.
My favourite by far is the whole “bad shot” thing in 2019. It always pissed me off how much shit the internet gave him for that quote. He was literally just straight up correct. Getting a guy to take a side step fading 3 from 40 feet out that you still managed to contest well is a bad shot for the offence, and it going in cannot be called anything more than luck. It’s not him making excuses, it’s not him being a sore loser, it’s him saying “I did everything right, we as a team got them to take the worst shot they could’ve outside of a full on block/turnover, and it just happened that it went in”.
Restaurant P getting some love.
Maybe unpopular opinion but I think there have been a lot of soft jersey retirements lately. Shaq in Orlando (he was there 4 years, didn’t win anything, who cares?) and, flair forgive me, even KG with the Celtics. Obviously he helped change the perspective of the franchise but he was only here for 6 seasons.
Seems like it would be kind of weird for them to retire his number. 4x All-Star, never won a ring (or even made the Finals), and will end up spending more than half his career elsewhere.
Humble P
For me, Paul George’s podcast has made him supremely likeable if for no other reason—he is wildly self aware and realistic about his place in the league, history, and with other players while also balancing that with his supreme confidence in his abilities, talent and health.
In a sea of Carmelos and Draymonds in terms of ego, PG is always so even keeled and the first to take responsibility if he did something stupid or self deprecatingly poke fun at himself.
Comtemplative, introspective P.
Wtf no. I am glad he is aware of that
Paul “Reasonable” George
He was very possibly the best player in pacers history and led one of our strongest teams ever. I don’t think it’s a given, but I would definitely understand if the pacers retired his jersey one day
Ron Artest deserves this more than
Spot on, P. However, if you come back and this Big3 does big things, I’ll get up their with a ladder and some bungie cords myself
Maybe he should opt out and come back.
I can honestly say that PG love in Indiana is at an all-time high since the last time he had on a Pacers jersey. The way Oladipo fucked us made us realize that PG didn’t really do anything wrong when he left. He’s shown us nothing but love since.
I can’t believe it’s even a thought
You member Danny Granger???
I respect the introspection
I drove by Indiana once. Pacers should retire my number too
this dude was going shot for shot with lebron and dwade idk how the pacers org wouldnt want to have his jersery honored tbh without him there would be 2010s pacers
PG also stated that after the Pacers traded him to OKC he head them talking about him never going to be an all star again if he’s in the West
Why couldn’t he just say “no thanks” behind the scenes?