Everyone who watched ESPN's “The Last Dance” documentary, which focused in on the Chicago Bulls' 1997-98 season, witnessed the unrelenting competitive nature of Michael Jordan. Certainly, Jordan's hard-nosed leadership style isn't everyone's cup of tea and may rub some people the wrong way. However, for L.A. Clippers star Paul George, that isn't going to be a problem at all.
Paul George recently appeared on ESPN's #oneteam with Adrian Wojnarowski. This is what he said when asked about how he would have handled being teammates with someone like His Airness.
“You know what, I wouldn't have had a hard time with that. I grew up with watching Kobe, right? I gained an appreciation with his will to win and his fieriness. Me being in Indiana, that's kind of what I wanted to be. I wanted to be an enforcer to let people know I wanted to win and win at all costs. So I admired watching MJ during his documentary. I would have loved to play with a guy like that.”
Paul George also compared Jordan's competitive spirit to his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook.
Article Continues Below“A lot of tendencies that I see in MJ, I see that see that same fieriness in a guy that I played with Russ. Russ wants to win at all costs and you love him as a teammate. He's a guy that every time he touches that floor he wants to win and he's going to give everything he has. And I admire that.”
It's no secret that Paul George is a Kobe Bryant guy through and through. Nonetheless, Kobe did say he patterned much of his game from MJ's and their competitive nature is just as relentless as the other's. So it's no surprise that Jordan's fire resonated with George as well.
Paul George will need to be this type of leader for the Clippers if they want to win their first NBA championship in franchise history.
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