It was August 1st, 2014. After an awkward fall, Paul George suffered a sickening compound fracture to both his tibia and fibula at a Team USA scrimmage.

I couldn’t help myself from standing,” George said 6-months later in an exclusive with Bleacher Report. “Why can’t I stand right now? Then I saw my bone. The second I saw my bone I lost it. I just laid flat.”

It was a shock for George who at 24-years old at the time never suffered any sort of injury after playing basketball for such a long. “I felt I was immortal. I was invincible,” he said.

George missed almost the entire 2014-15 season and only played the final six games of the season for an Indiana team that finished ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 38-44 record (.463)

“The worst has happened. The best is next.”



Six months on from his devastating injury, Nike released an ad on Twitter featuring Paul George. His best was next. The season that followed his devastating injury George averaged what was to date his best year with 23.1 points, 7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game and missing only one game all year.

Following two seasons at the Thunder and five-and-a-half years removed from his gruesome injury, he’s formed a formidable partnership with Kawhi Leonard – a four-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP – spearheading a Clippers side in an absolutely stacked Western Conference.

George, a six-time All-Star himself underwent surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder last May. In June he underwent further surgery to a torn labrum. His off-season was strictly rehabilitation without any basketball.

Is injuries impacting him mentally?

At the end of last year he admitted that the injuries where a distraction. “This year, I’ve almost been shying away from the contact so it’s just getting it through my head that I’m fine with the physicality.”

Getting comfortable surely will come with time as he still struggles to find his offensive rhythm. Despite a 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists on Tuesday, he struggled from the field with 3-of-15 in 35 minutes in a loss against the 76ers.

Can Paul George turn it around. As he’s said before, “the worst has happened. The best is next.” Lets see if he’s got what it takes to turn it all around.