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The Oklahoma City Thunder plan to honor Paul George during lineup introductions when George makes his return to OKC as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night:
Thunder will have something planned for Paul George during lineup introductions. Sense is that he’ll be given a much better reception than what Kevin Durant had
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 22, 2019
George played two seasons with the Thunder, averaging 25.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals in 156 games. He put together a nice MVP candidacy last season when he averaged 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and an NBA-best 2.2 steals per game.
However, George did not have much team success when he moved from the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017. The Thunder lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2018, and despite George signing a four-year pact that summer, he was on his way out of town after another first-round exit in 2019.
The opportunistic George helped to orchestrate a trade to the Clippers to pair up with Kawhi Leonard, just one year after signing the aforementioned contract in free agency.
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Despite a rather sour ending to the two-year tenure, the Thunder will indeed honor George. Whether or not he receives a “better reception” than Durant remains to be seen.
The Clippers (22-9) were widely regarded as a favorite in the Western Conference during the preseason, and they enter Sunday's game in second place in the West.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, were considered to be in rebuild mode after trading George and also swapping Russell Westbrook in exchange for veteran point guard. Instead, the Thunder (14-14) find themselves in playoff position, though the likes of Paul and Danilo Gallinari have been constant subjects of trade chatter.
