Paul George is returning to where it all started for All-Star weekend in Indiana, which begs the question, should the Pacers retire his jersey?
PG-13 made four of his nine All-Star appearances with Indiana and helped the Pacers to six playoff appearances in seven seasons.
He also was awarded the NBA’s Most Improved and made two All-NBA teams in his time there.
But he’s not sure he did enough to warrant his jersey in the rafters at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Honestly, you think about the guys, there’s only what, [four] guys that’s retired there,” George told Andscape. “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,” Durant said. “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.”
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