Subscribe
Follow Us
Paul George was undoubtedly pleased with his performance in the Oklahoma City Thunder's win on Friday night. The All-Star starter scored 43 points and drained a career-high 10 three-pointers in his team's convincing victory over the Miami Heat, further burgeoning a case for MVP that seems to grow stronger every time he takes the floor.
The game was especially significant for Paul George, though, because it marked the last time he would ever face Dwyane Wade at AmericanAirlines Center. The three-time champion is retiring at season's end, making Friday's contest the second-to-last time he'll ever share the floor with George – a reality hardly lost on the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar.
“It means a lot on a special night, my last time playing here with D-Wade on the floor,” George said, per Cody Taylor of Thunder Wire. “It’s a special night overall together.”
Dwyane Wade, who swapped jerseys with George after the game, has been surprisingly effective in his final NBA season. The 37-year-old is a shell of the player he once was, but he is still averaging solid numbers of 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while coming off the bench. He has even remained an integral part of Miami's crunch-time offense, routinely closing games as his team's primary ball handler.
Article Continues Below
While George undoubtedly has immense respect for Wade in this diminished capacity, it's the player the future Hall of Famer was in his prime that helped George become one of the league's best.
“Couldn’t say enough about D-Wade and what he has been to this league and honestly, what he has been for my development,” he said before Friday's game. “He played a huge role in my development and who I am now as a player.”
Wade and George will meet one more time before the former hangs it up, in Oklahoma City on March 18th.
