Paul George Reacts to Teammate Planning to Retire

LA Clippers star Paul George will miss Nicolas Batum

Joey Linn | Aug 29, 2023

Paul George Reacts to Teammate Planning to Retire /

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Los Angeles Clippers

It was announced earlier this summer that LA Clippers veteran Nicolas Batum plans to retire from basketball after the 2024 Olympics. This would of course mean that this upcoming season will be his last in the NBA. During a recent episode of Podcast P, which is presented by Wave Sports and Entertainment, Clippers star Paul George reacted to this news, and spoke on how important Batum has been to the team.

"Nico is a competitor," George said. "He for sure makes my job easier, and he's just a good dude. We literally share lockers right next to each other at the practice facility. Even at the arena we share lockers, so we casually talk off the court stuff. But on the court he's just a Swiss army knife. A guy that kinda does it all, the glue that holds everything together. He goes and guards the point guard, or goes and guards the four man, or goes and guards [Anthony Davis] or [Karl Anthony-Towns]. He'll go guard fives sometimes. [Nikola Jokic] he's guarded. He's really the guy that just kind of does it all for us... But man, he definitely needs and deserves his flowers. People don't understand, he's probably year 17, year 18, Nico is up there."

Very highly respected amongst his peers, Batum will leave behind a very strong legacy once he does finally retire at the end of next season.

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Published Aug 29, 2023

JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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