Paul George Takes The Dwyane Wade Approach When Taking Backseat With Clippers

George's role is similar to when Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were teammates

Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George recently compared to taking a backseat to Kawhi Leonard the Miami Heat tandem of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. 

“Everybody says, 'Kawhi [and] you are one and one,'" Paul George said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I'll publicly say I'm the two. Kawhi's the one, I'm the two. So that part we nipped in the bud, like there's no ego when it comes to that.”

George said he is in the same position as when Wade became the No. 2 player when LeBron James arrived in Miami.

“Look at the Miami Heat,” George said. “Wing-wing Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Listen, Kawhi is the No. 1, and I’m totally fine with that. I think I try to complement him with being able to take the load off of him.”

Wade was the go-to player his entire Heat career, but willing accepted a new role when James signed in 2010. The Heat won two titles in four straight NBA Finals appearances. 

Leonard and George joined the Clippers in 2019, which led many labeling them as a championship contender for years to come. While Los Angeles made strides, they still haven’t reached an NBA Finals. They were notoriously eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in 2020 after being praised as a championship-level team. They reached their first conference finals in 2021, but lost to the Suns after Leonard went down with injury. The Clippers are one of six teams that have never reached the Finals.

However, they are among the favorites to win it all this year after signing former All-Star point guard John Wall. Maybe this big 3 in Los Angeles will replicate the Heat’s success by reaching the big game and bringing home a championship.

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.