Paul George Responds to 'Playoff P' Narrative

LA Clippers star Paul George opened up about the 'Playoff P' label

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Paul George had one of the biggest turnaround performances in the NBA last season, avenging his poor showing in the 2020 bubble with a dominant run in the 2021 playoffs. After experiencing some of the most ruthless criticism from his playoff performance in 2020, George redeemed himself in a big way during the 2021 postseason. 

After Kawhi Leonard went down with injury, Paul George averaged 30/11/6, which included a game with 41 PTS, 13 REB, and 6 AST on 75% shooting when facing elimination on the road in the Western Conference Finals. With a 20-point performance in each of the 19 playoff games George played in this past run, he joined Larry Bird, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O'Neal, Steph Curry, and Allen Iverson as the only 13 players in NBA history with at least 19 games of 20+ points in a single playoff run.

Needless to say, Paul George was simply dominant during the 2021 playoffs. With the self proclaimed "Playoff P" nickname receiving a negative connotation during the bubble, PG did all he could to reclaim that title's positive meaning. When asked about it on a recent segment of Serge Ibaka's "How Hungry Are You?" YouTube series, George said, "I mean, they ran with it. Playoff P was like, I was having fun with it. When Playoff P was born, I was having fun with it."

George added that "I'm having fun with the media, and then Playoff P is supposed to be like Michael Jordan apparently. But Playoff P is there for the moment, man. Enjoys the moment, win, lose, or draw, he enjoys the moment. For me, it's giving everything I have, like this last playoff run. If I had to play every moment, I was going to. I didn't care, I didn't complain, it was my job. Really, that's what Playoff P is, doing whatever it takes."

With 511 points, 183 rebounds, and 102 assists in the 2021 playoffs, Paul George joined Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only six players in NBA history with at least 500 points, 180 rebounds, and 100 assists in a single playoff run. Needless to say, he stuck to that "do whatever it takes" mentality that Playoff P is supposed to be about.

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