The Summer of George

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

After colliding with a stanchion and suffering a horrific broken leg during a Team USA scrimmage in August 2014, nobody would have blamed Paul George if he had soured on the international team experience. “Love of country” only goes so far when what’s essentially a volunteer activity takes a year off a man’s career. Instead though, George rehabbed vigorously enough to warrant his own HGTV show, putting forth an impressive 2015-16 campaign that culminated in the Pacers star being tabbed the Comeback Player of the Year by NBA players last week.

Now, George is carrying that momentum down to Rio. Having crawled through a metaphorical 500 yards of human waste and come out clean, George offered words of encouragement to French gymnast Ait Said, who suffered a similarly gruesome leg injury while competing on the vault Saturday. He’s also more than handling his business on the court. Through two games, it’s shaping up that when we look back on these 2016 Olympic Games, while we made not think of George as Team USA’s best player (the NBA’s newest villain Kevin Durant can claim that honor), we may think of him as this squad’s most memorable one.

Being utilized in a super-sub role by Coach K, George dropped 15 points in the Group A opener against China, before going off for a game-high 20 points yesterday against Venezuela, shooting 6-7 from the field and 3-4 from three. Standing at 6’9″ with close to a 7-foot wingspan, there are few opposing big men on the international scene against whom George can’t match up. However, he also possesses the quickness to lock down opposing point guards if need by, as he did for long stretches of the contest against China. That positional flexibility makes him an ideal fit for the up-tempo, blitzing style Team USA has terrorized opponents with in this tournament. George has become the modern, supersized version of the Andre Iguodala swiss army knife from past squads, with a much better 3-point shot to boot.

However, while Iguodala is more known for doing the little things within the margins that often go unnoticed, Paul George has those superstar moments which are bound to jump out at you. For instance, this play against Venezuela where he showed he’s as physically imposing a presence as anyone on the floor:

Paul George sheds a blocker and then hammers one down https://t.co/fAAbCoZzOA

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) August 8, 2016

George even found the time to offer the comic relief of the night (non-Harrison Barnes gaffe edition):

https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/762802118575034369

The man is locked into the game; he cannot spare the mental energy to toss away his own cup!

George was even a (somewhat) good sport after getting his ankles broken by Chinese guard Zhao Jiwei, probably the lone moment through two games where he wasn’t crushing the opposition.

Lol 🖕🏾 RT @chefVOYardee: Starting up a collection so we can lay PG's ankles to rest https://t.co/X8VWcJ5ikm

— Paul George (@Yg_Trece) August 7, 2016

Having tossed aside the two pushovers in their group, Team USA now hits the part of their schedule where the opposition should offer a modicum of resistance, starting Wednesday against an Australian team that has already notched quality wins against France and Serbia. If this first week is any indication, Paul George will continue to be a huge part of Team USA’s quest for gold.

I proclaim this…the Summer of George!