In August 2014, Paul George suffered a horrific injury when his right leg hit the basketball stanchion during a Team USA scrimmage for the 2014 FIBA World Cup. His injury was so severe that coach Mike Krzyzewski called off the scrimmage with around 10 minutes left in the final quarter. Many feared that this was the end of PG-13’s career. But George stunned everyone after registering six games at the tail-end of the 2014-2015 season and then showing tremendous improvement with each season.
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As it turns out, Charles Barkley is a fan of George’s resilience and mental fortitude on the tenuous road to recovery from a compound fracture. On Paul George’s Podcast P, Barkley confessed that PG-13’s injury had frightened him at the time. He also admitted that he never faced such a dangerous injury throughout his hoops journey, so could only imagine what PG went through at that time.
The Inside the NBA analyst seemed impressed that George continues to be one of the best two-way guards in the league, a decade after such a horrific injury. He commended PG-13 for conquering all the doubts after suffering such an ordeal.
Barkley expressed his admiration for PG in no uncertain terms,
“You’ve been hell of a player for a long time. I’m proud of your success. I remember when you got hurt, man, that was scary. I’ve never had an injury that severe and I know in the back of your mind, you’re like, ‘Damn can I be great again?’ Obviously, you’ve been great again for a few years.”
Then Barkley turned his attention to George’s new squad, the Philadelphia 76ers. He liked his pairing with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey while giving a thumbs-up to the 76ers’ team-building process in the summer.
As a former 76ers superstar, the Chuckster wished PG-13 and his teammates the best of luck, hoping that they can at least make the NBA Finals next season.
However, there’s no denying that it’s a miracle that PG-13 continues to move the needle as an athlete. At one point, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever hit the hardwood again.
Paul George overcame a massive adversity
During a recent episode of his podcast, Paul George revealed that after the 2014 episode, he feared his basketball career was over. PG-13 felt that doing the hard yards in his rehab may not be worth it as he may never be able to become an NBA athlete again.
However, he received incredible support from the medical staff and his teammates. Thanks to their motivation, he was able to return in less than a year after fracturing his lower right leg.
“At that point, I ain’t know if I was going to hoop again…I was practising with the team January-February, two months before that I really look nasty, but the training staff was like, ‘You fine, medically cleared’. So I was just like f**k it, Imma just go out there and they say I can trust it. It helped having that, you know, that little wiggle room.”
Not only did George recover, he became an even better player after recovering from his injury. His three-point shooting improved with each season.
During the 2018-19 season, he averaged an impressive 28 points per game with the Oklahoma City Thunder, while also being the steals leader throughout the NBA. Paul George’s story is indeed remarkable as he defied all odds and transcended his own expectations.
