Messi fever has hit its peak in America and everyone wants their piece of the GOAT. LA Clippers superstar Paul George is no different. In a recent episode of his podcast, PG 13 mentioned Messi’s name, saying that he would love to don goalkeeping gloves and go up against the Inter Miami forward. Messi has made his mark on the biggest stages of the game at the most crucial moments throughout his career. Hence, it isn’t much of a surprise to see him tearing up the MLS with the admixture of his experience and skill. However, George still wanted to face the Argentine magician just for the sake of a priceless experience.
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With already 11 goals in the league, Messi has shown yet again why he’s such an elite athlete irrespective of age or platform. PG13 is no scrub either on the hardwood. However, to go up against the best player to ever play the game, as a goalkeeper, it takes a different kind of skill set and training. Luckily for PG, he ticks most of the boxes for athleticism, whether it’s frame, height, reflexes, or strength. George went into detail about his desire on ‘Podcast P with Paul George‘.
Paul George talks about his desire to face the GOAT
During a recent episode of PG13’s podcast, co-host Jackie Long pulled up a clip of Jimmy Butler playing against world number 1 Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz for fun. He followed it up by asking PG who would he go up against if he had to choose to compete with an athlete in a different sport. George responded saying he would like to go up against Messi as a goalie, purely for the experience of competing against one of the game’s living legends.
His co-hosts laughed it off saying that he might get his fingers broken trying to save Messi’s shots. But George respectfully stood his ground, saying that he had a distant chance. However, when they dug deeper asking him how many shots he would block out of 10, the eight-time All-Star candidly said that he might not block any, considering Messi makes professional keepers look silly.
The 33-year-old added by reiterating the fact that he will purely do it for the experience. Here’s what George said:
“I’m super competitive. But I’m not going to disrespect other people in their sport…. I would find it highly disrespectful if someone said they’d beat me in basketball that didn’t play basketball. For the experience, I’d like to be the goalie against Messi…… I think I got a chance…. “
Jackie: “He might break your fingers…. “
PG: “He might…”
“10 shots how many are you blocking”
PG: “He make professional goalies look silly so I might not block any. But we are talking about the experience.”
This is yet another reason why George is heading toward the Hoop Hall of Fame-his tendency to compete and test himself against the very best, irrespective of the territory and conditions makes him stand out.
NBA athletes in other sports
Being a two-sport athlete like Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson can be extremely taxing and not everyone is suited for those shoes. However, that doesn’t stop athletes such as Jimmy Butler, Petr Cech, or Michael Jordan from trying to compete in other sports, whether it’s for entertainment or for competition.
Modern-day NBA stars, however, seem to be adept at most sports they try, due to the high level of skill required to be able to play in the modern game. Their reflexes and frame help translate to other sports, giving us an insight into how competitive the league actually is.
