Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY Sports

RIO DE JANEIRO – Paul George has been on the other end of this sort of hospital bed conversation, the kind that lifts your spirits after so many days of devastation.

For the Indiana Pacers star who suffered a gruesome right leg break in a Team USA men’s basketball scrimmage in Las Vegas on Aug. 1, 2014, it was an inspiring phone call he received from the Lakers legend Kobe Bryant that made him want to fight again. And now, with French gymnast Samir Ait Said, having suffered a similar fate with his left leg break on Saturday during qualification rounds, George wants to play that part.

“I remember the phone call that he gave me, and he was basically (saying) ‘Attack this rehab the same way you attack the summer working out,’” George said after the Americans defeated Venezuela on Monday to improve to 2-0 in Olympic play. “That was the best advice I could’ve gotten at that point, because it became a different challenge. It wasn’t preparing for an NBA season, it was preparing for the comeback.”

Like the one Ait Said is about to embark on.

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While the two Olympians have yet to connect, George, 26, said he expects to meet with Ait Said in person at these Games. He also noted that a meeting was scheduled for Monday, but didn’t transpire because of the Americans’ game against Venezuela.

“I don’t know him, he don’t know me,” George said. “We’ll become friends when we meet.”

George’s remarkable and heartfelt comeback continues on the court, too. He had 15 points against China on Saturday before scoring a game-high 20 points against Venezuela, and is turning into a key player for the U.S. in his first Olympics.

But George’s story is bigger than basketball, and he understands that. George missed almost all of the 2014-15 season, but returned in 2015-16 even better. He made the All-Star team for a third time and was third-team All-NBA, averaging 23.1 points, seven rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Paul George says mental part of rehab was the toughest

“It’s an easy story to tell,” George said. “I came back strong and better and for it. Hopefully, he’s more athletic, and hopefully it’s a story, as well as mine, that can inspire as well. It’s all about encouraging, keeping his head into it. I know for him, it’s tough.”

George, who also added that he reached out to Ait Said on Twitter but had yet to hear back, said he was watching the men’s gymnastics qualification live when Ait Said horrific injury happened.

“It brought me back to my days; it was difficult,” George said. “I didn’t want to watch it. In order for me to go over and talk to him, I had to see what happened. It was tough for me to watch.”

“(But) I had to watch it again, in order to give the greatest advice. I had to see what actually happened. I didn’t want to go into the situation blindly, so I’m here for him.”

Paul George wants to meet with French Olympic gymnast with shattered leg

George has played the video of his own injury several times since that night when the Thomas & Mack Center went silent. He even watched it a few months back, if only as a reminder of where he’s been and where he’s going. But in those days that followed, he said he was contacted by more than a hundred people who wanted to offer support.

“I’m big on karma,” George said. “I was in that same position, and people I didn’t even know were reaching out to me. I’ve been in that position. I know what it feels like.

“At some point, I’m going to go over and have a chat with him and try to be an inspiration to him.”

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