OKLAHOMA CITY – A little after 5 p.m., just as the sun begins to set over the plain, a rural golf course gets its most visible visitor. Paul George is still learning the ins and outs of Oklahoma City — “I read a lot of Yelp reviews,” he said — but here, things are familiar. Not the slope of the greens or the curve of the fairway, but the ponds that buffer them. Many days, most days, George climbs into his golf cart, a half-dozen fishing poles strapped to the back, and pond hops, waving at the farmer-tanned golfers gawking at the 6-foot-9 All-Star forward motoring past them.

There may be a part of George that longs for a return to Los Angeles, but everything about Oklahoma City feels like home. “Life here, it’s not much different than Indiana,” George told The Vertical. “Really, it’s just my lake. I have a big lake in my backyard [in Indiana]. This time of year I’d get on my boat and fish. That was how I would spend my days. Now I just go from pond to pond.”

The NBA’s most compelling team isn’t in Boston or Cleveland, the Bay Area or the Texas coast. Five months ago Oklahoma City was a single-star franchise, willed by Russell Westbrook to 47 wins and an improbable spot in the middle of the Western Conference playoff mix. Today, Westbrook is flanked by George and Carmelo Anthony, a potentially lethal offensive trio with eyes on challenging the Golden State Warriors for conference supremacy.

Last week, George settled into a cushioned chair off the floor in the Thunder’s practice facility and marveled at the talent around him. On one basket was Westbrook, the reigning MVP, a 28-year-old superstar just entering his prime. On another was Anthony, the now familiar hoodie spilling out of his practice jersey, a perennial All-Star energized after six and a half soul-sucking seasons in New York.

“You need special talent to build championship teams,” George said. “It’s no secret. You feel more comfortable out there when you have guys who can play at the same level, who can play at a high level, play with high energy as well. I’m not going to be perfect every night. But to have a guy that can play at that same level that I can some nights, that I can benefit from, is a luxury. Look at Russ — the guy averaged a triple-double and had a hard time getting [in] the playoffs. It’s just hard to do in this day and age. That was one of the hardest things for me in Indy. I wanted to be there, I wanted to stay there so much. It just didn’t seem like we were going to get to that level, of having high-level talent to win a championship.”

George is accomplished, an All-Star, a 20-point-plus scorer in each of his last three full seasons. Yet in his early meetings with Thunder coach Billy Donovan, he had one request: challenge me. George had come a long way in seven years in Indiana, but he badly wants to go further. Put me in uncomfortable positions, George told Donovan. Help me, he said, become the most complete player I can be.

View photos Paul George is ready for the challenge of elevating his game and the Thunder. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) More

“I think Paul is still trying to stretch himself as a player,” Donovan told The Vertical. “I think Paul is just looking to be pushed. The coaching staff, myself, are trying to push him in areas where he can get better. He had an incredible run [in Indiana]. But like any elite player, those guys are always trying to find ways to get better. That’s why they are who they are. As a coach you try to challenge them to help them get better and improve themselves.”

Donovan’s task is daunting. Having three premier scorers is great. Designing an offense for them? Not so easy. Through three preseason games, Oklahoma City has looked disjointed. There are flashes of brilliance, often followed by stretches of uncertainty. Stars used to being the focal point of the offense are going out of their way to defer. Trial and error is a part of the process.