Latest news with #PaulGeorge
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sacramento Kings Earn Unflattering Comparison Amid NBA Playoffs
Sacramento Kings Earn Unflattering Comparison Amid NBA Playoffs originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Sacramento Kings, with a core of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Domantas Sabonis, are expected to make a push for a point guard this offseason to allow them to compete in the Western Conference. Advertisement It could be pointed out that the Kings had two elite point guards on the roster, De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Had Sacramento kept either one of them, they likely would be playoff staples by now instead of a middling team without a first-round draft pick. The Kings aren't the only team that helped build a Finals-bound team, and they likely aren't the only franchise that wishes they could take everything back. Nov 3, 2021; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) is congratulated by guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) after scoring a basket during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center.© Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Clippers traded for Paul George, sending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the draft rights to Jalen Williams to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This season, the Thunder did what the Clippers have never been able to do, and made the Finals directly on the backs of those two players. Advertisement The Toronto Raptors, as well, traded away their 2019 core, sending Pascal Siakam to the Pacers, who was eventually replaced by Brandon Ingram. Ingram and Siakam play the same position, but one is very clearly better than the other. "Toronto is one of those teams that is sitting there on the balls of its feet, which is interesting because it's kind of like hearing about Sacramento, because Sacramento is one of them too," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "I don't think that's breaking news. And the funny thing, of course, is that Sacramento wants a point guard." Being compared to the Clippers and their blunders and the Raptors, who have missed the playoffs for three seasons in a row, is not exactly high praise. Had the Kings, Clippers, and Raptors never made those trades, the NBA Finals picture likely would look a lot different. Advertisement Check out the Inside the Kings homepage for more news, analysis, and must-read articles. Related: Sacramento Kings' Best Move This NBA Offseason Ignores Obvious History Related: Celtics Stars Headline Kings' 'Dream' Trade Targets This Offseason This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Pacers and Thunder can thank Paul George for their 2025 NBA Finals berths
Pacers and Thunder can thank Paul George for their 2025 NBA Finals berths This Thursday, one of the more unconventional NBA Finals in some time will tip off between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The funny twist is that this series likely never comes close to happening without the services of one ... Paul George. As a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA player, George has clearly had one of the better careers of his generation. But for all his individual accomplishments, the Philadelphia 76ers forward hasn't been all that close to the NBA Finals in over a decade. That hasn't come from a lack of trying in dictating where he's played. It's thanks to George's insistence on his individual movement that the Thunder and Pacers built their championship-caliber teams in the first place. You see, when George, who originally began his career with the Pacers, wanted out of Indiana, the franchise dealt him away to the Thunder in 2017. In return, Indiana received Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Approximately five years later, the Pacers used Sabonis to trade for Tyrese Haliburton, who has since become an arguable top-10 NBA player and the franchise's clear talisman. Oof. Unfortunately for George, that's not where his 2025 Finals story ends. To try and get Kawhi Leonard a No. 2 running mate in the summer of 2019, the L.A. Clippers acquired George by trading five first-round picks to the Thunder as well as a young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. You know, the reigning MVP and a veritable top-five player in the league. Oh, man. Double oof. Call it a hunch, but I think the Clippers really regret this move now. You're reading this right, dearest readers. The Thunder and Pacers acquired their respective best players because both traded away George in less than half a decade's time. Triple oof. Well, if George wants to feel better about this, he does have a focus on his "Podcast P" platform while being mired on a 76ers team that is kind of stuck in neutral, thanks to his monster max contract. Oh, and the 76ers might try to trade him for Kevin Durant after George had one of the worst seasons of his career. Oh, wait. Never mind, that probably doesn't make him feel better.
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
How Paul George helped the Thunder and Pacers reach the 2025 NBA Finals
How Paul George helped the Thunder and Pacers reach the 2025 NBA Finals At this point in the playoffs, teams parade around celebrities as their pseudo-mascots. You see it all the time with Los Angeles and New York. Smaller markets like Oklahoma City and Indiana rely on former players to show up and give home crowds an extra shot of energy. As the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers prepare to square off in the 2025 NBA Finals, they could make like a pair of divorced parents and share that honor with Paul George. In Game 1, he could be courtside at OKC. Game 3, the same deal at Indiana. While not intentionally, the future Hall-of-Famer helped both franchises reach this point. No matter who wins the NBA Finals, a franchise will experience its first championship. The Thunder punched their first ticket back to the championship round since 2012. It was an even longer gap for the Pacers from their last visit in 2000. Both NBA franchises are forever linked because of one player — George. The multi-time All-Star is one of the defining players of the 2010s. He was a consistent 20-plus point scorer who was viewed as one of the best defenders on several title contenders. But his biggest contribution to a championship may be his trade value. Not his on-court production. Both the Thunder and Pacers have had several George trades that catapulted them to this space. A modern-day Herschel Walker, here's how George helped OKC and Indiana get to the NBA Finals: The original PG trade Before we dive into George's contributions, let's look back at when he was first traded. The Thunder and Pacers shocked the NBA world when George was traded to OKC in July 2017. After openly flirting with the Lakers, Indiana did what was best for itself. George was traded to the Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. That's it. Fresh off his MVP season and a Round 1 exit, Russell Westbrook was paired back up with a perennial All-Star forward. The move was needed as the Thunder had no other way to upgrade their roster and not waste the prime of one of the best players. Meanwhile, the Pacers went with two franchise cornerstones with room to grow over draft capital. Oladipo was fresh off a bad year but was rejuvenated in Indiana. He enjoyed his best seasons there with two All-Star bids before injuries cut his career short. Sabonis grew from a forgettable rookie to one of the best players. How PG helped the Thunder On a one-year rental, the Thunder went out of their comfort zone and took a massive gamble. George was only under contract for his first season. He was set to be a free agent after the 2017-18 campaign. OKC understood the risk of him walking away with nothing in hand and had full confidence that its culture would be enough to convince him to stay in his year. The bet paid off. George stayed in OKC on a four-year, $137 million deal. The Thunder celebrated the massive franchise moment with a party. It was a bit of redemption, as only two years had passed since Kevin Durant left them at the altar. George went on to have a career season in 2018-19. He averaged 28 points and 8.2 rebounds, which was enough to finish third in the MVP award. Despite his individual success, the Thunder had another Round 1 exit. With the highest payroll ever, OKC felt cornered on what it could do to improve its roster. In comes the Clippers. Needing George to convince Kawhi Leonard to sign, LA gave up a historic draft package that headlined a blockbuster deal. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari were also part of the deal. Let's just say that LA didn't get its bang for its buck. It only had one Western Conference Finals appearance in the Kawhi-PG era. Meanwhile, the Thunder went out like bandits. Gilgeous-Alexander blossomed into an MVP winner. The Clippers gifted Jalen Williams to OKC with their 2022 lottery pick. We're still waiting out the final details of the five-year-old trade as the Thunder could still own LA's 2026 first-round pick. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams are the Thunder's two best players. They were All-Star teammates. Both were given to them by the Clippers in the modern-day Herschel Walker trade. OKC is now four wins away from running another victory lap around Intuit Dome. How PG helped the Pacers This one takes a couple of extra steps. There's no direct lineage between George and the Pacers' current run, but he was the first part of a two-part transaction sequence that has led Indiana back to the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years. While Oladipo was the immediate prize, Sabonis quietly developed in the background. He eventually usurped his teammate as Indiana's best player. Turns out, OKC trying to make him a stretch four probably wasn't his best developmental plan. Sabonis turned into an old-school, back-of-the-basket player. His first two All-Star bids were with the Pacers. He turned into a double-double machine that could facilitate in the post. He averaged 16.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists at Indiana. Really solid numbers that put him among the 30 best players. Shaking things up, the Pacers shocked the NBA world again. They traded Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton in a multi-player deal. It was a soft rebuild for Indiana as tanking is a foreign concept to the franchise. Haliburton was in his second season. He finished third in Rookie of the Year. He was viewed as one of the best young point guards in the league at the time, but De'Aaron Fox's presence made it an awkward backcourt fit. The Kings pivoted and made a deal to bolster their frontcourt. The trade was viewed as a win-win for a while until Haliburton slowly sprinted past Sabonis among the NBA's best players. The two-time All-Star has been the Pacers' franchise player for the last few years. He's been one of the best playmakers in that period. He's averaged 19.5 points and 10.1 assists in Indiana. Catching fire at the right time, Haliburton has headlined the Pacers' miracle run to the NBA Finals. Late-game heroics and a scorching-hot offense have helped Indiana return to basketball's biggest stage. They also enjoyed a little bit of luck along the way.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Business
- Washington Post
The NBA Finals are set: It'll be Thunder vs. Pacers, starting Thursday night
The seeds for the 2025 NBA Finals began getting planted unknowingly in 2017, back when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was about to enroll at Kentucky and Tyrese Haliburton was getting ready for his senior year of high school in Wisconsin. That was the year the Indiana Pacers traded Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers landed Domantas Sabonis out of that deal. The Thunder would trade George in 2019 to the Los Angeles Clippers for a package that included Gilgeous-Alexander. The Pacers would trade Sabonis in 2022 to Sacramento for a package that included Haliburton.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sixers' Paul George has advice for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards
The game of basketball is all about progression and development. In order to be a star in this league, one has to keep growing and take steps forward in his game to be at that next level. That is the challenge for Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. After a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, Edwards and the Wolves are in the same position they were in 2024 when they were blown out in Game 5 by the Dallas Mavericks. Edwards had some big moments against the Thunder--most notably the Game 3 win--but his scoring average of 23.0 points in the series combined with his 28.2% 3-point percentage left a lot to be desired. Advertisement Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George offered up some advice to Edwards as he continues with his career. On the latest episode of "Podcast P with Paul George": I think Ant's gotta get better at he's gotta develop a post game. Where he can let the game slow down, where he can get to one dribble and raise up and shoot, and I think that helps a player get into a rhythm a lot better, where he starts closer and he doesn't have to worry about bringing two defenders to the ball to try to get free, get to an elbow, get to the mid post, where you can see the whole floor, and play from there. So I think that's the next evolution for Ant. Edwards is only 23 years old. One has to believe that he is going to continue taking these steps forward as a superstar and develop into one of the best players the league has seen. As for George and the Sixers, they will be looking to get healthy and capitalize on the talent they possess after a miserable 2024-25 season. This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers' Paul George has advice for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards
