Paul George returned to Los Angeles Wednesday for the first time since leaving the Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency last offseason. He did not receive a warm welcome.
Fans at the Intuit Dome greeted the nine-time All-Star with a smattering of boos as he took the court, and continued to do so as the game began.
Paul George saps up entire Clippers sideline and Zu before opening tip
Then he throws Kelly Oubre Jr. out of bounds in the corner as he gets booed pic.twitter.com/9HpAVPhKpk
— Law Murray 🕯️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) November 7, 2024
The Wall of Clippers fans at one end of the arena also broke out a “PG sucks” chant.
George didn’t make his debut until Monday after he went down with a bone bruise in his left knee in the preseason. He had 15 points, five assists and four rebounds but shot just 1-of-7 from behind the arc in their two-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, but he seemed back to full strength after missing their first five games of the season.
Paul George has no hard feelings toward Clippers
Before Wednesday night’s game, George looked back on his time with the organization and their failed contract negotiations — which, he admits now, was a bit shocking.
His relationship with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the rest of the team’s front office never soured. Yet he still opted to sign a four-year, $212 million deal with the 76ers in free agency.
“I think it got kind of misconstrued or [the] narrative kind of wasn’t written correctly with the relationship with [president] Lawrence [Frank], the relationship with Steve Ballmer,” George said before the game, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I mean, they were awesome the whole time I was here.
“Kind of the reason why it was such a shocking decision how it played out at the end. But they were awesome. My time here, I think that was kind of refreshing to be alongside and have a partnership like that with a front office. And so I think that was probably the highlight of the whole [time with the Clippers]. Just how great they were in my tenure here.”
George spent five seasons with the Clippers, who traded for him ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. Though George shined in his time with the organization, the team made it to a conference finals just once and were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two years.
George and the Clippers initially talked about a three-year extension — which is the same deal that Kawhi Leonard got — but negotiations stalled out during the season. After the year, when the two sides sat back down, George either wanted a four-year max offer or a no-trade clause.
Eventually, the Clippers and George went their separate ways. The deal, which would’ve kept George in his hometown and playing alongside Leonard and James Harden, fell apart.
“Paul obviously thought it was the right choice for him [to leave]. I’ll miss him,” Ballmer said, via ESPN. “Very good human being. Like him a lot, except when they play us. Wish him all the best, just not when they play us. And he was a good Clipper.”