Los Angeles Clippers star forward Paul George is one of the most complete talents to ever play the game and had the former 10th overall pick won at least one ring to this point, the reverence with which the general basketball world speaks of him would be on an entirely different level.

Nonetheless, even without George having yet managed to win an NBA championship, there's a new generation of hoopers not only hoping to emulate George in some way but who believe the California native is the best player to ever suit up.

From Charlotte Hornets rookie forward Brandon Miller (the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft) to Kiyan Anthony (the son of former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony).

Sure, it might sound crazy in world with Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all alive and well, and one still in the NBA, having just broke the all-time scoring record last year. However, for those that simply have an appreciation of the way the game is played, it's completely understandable how their eyes would have been more drawn to the grace, athleticism, ball-handling, and efficiency of George.

Honor and heartache

George, speaking to The Athletic's Law Murray about the players that look up to him, says that he's humbled by the experience. Not only because he feels he accomplished his mission of reaching ‘the Kobe Bryant standard' but because it's an experience that's been full-circle:

“Honestly, it's humbling. But the person I have to take credit for my inspiration, the person who motivated me as a kid, that was Kobe (Bryant). I wanted to emulate him. I wanted to be that next version of him. When I got the opportunity to be where I’m at now, I wanted it to be like, “OK, he's a product of Kobe Bryant.” Growing up in Southern California, growing up watching Kobe on an everyday basis, he was the one who influenced the game to me.

And now, full-circle moment, having kids you meet in that same light as a player they look up to, they admire, they wanted to be like, it's very humbling. I approached and I attacked the game the same way Kobe did, and that was just to try to get better, try to work on every deficiency of my game, try to play both ends, be a competitor. But with that, I was blessed to have the fluidity, the creativity, God-given talents to play on both ends and compete at the high level on both ends. So, it's an honor for those kids to look up to me and have that.”

Still, George feels “sorry for the kids that get that backlash” for picking him as their GOAT.

“They're getting discredited because of how they feel about me,” George says. “I saw the backlash Brandon Miller got over the net. I saw the backlash Kiyan Anthony got, them picking me as their GOAT. You know, it sucks that they can feel like they can't express themselves and be confident in what ultimately made them enjoy the game of basketball.”

In Miller's defense, he's only 20 years old, and it hasn't been too long since he was in his early teens. With that in mind, George was one of the most dominant players of the early 2010s. Though LeBron James was almost universally seen as the best player in the league for a few of those years, he had plenty of people coming for his crown.

Prince George was one of them.