Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George was a guest on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night, leading to plenty of anecdotes of his time coming up as an NBA prospect out of Fresno State in 2010.
The 6-foot-9 swingman recalled he and his father's first time in New York City for the NBA Draft, one that went in a somewhat unexpected road.
“It was fun,” George said. “It was my first time in New York, my family's first time in New York, and my parents' first time flying, period.”
“(George and his father) got pretty wasted. They didn't tell me I had to go to Indy until after a couple drinks… I had to go meet Larry Bird, the whole organization. We caught a 7 a.m. flight to Indiana, and we're out of it.”
Aside from George's crazy drunken life-changing encounter, the All-Star forward shed light on Mother's Day, what it's like to watch the playoffs after being eliminated and what it took to come out with his own signature shoe.
“What does she get herself?” George said after Kimmel asked if what he had gotten her.
“I think this was very strategic. She came to me about a week ago and asked for some diamond earrings. She's like, ‘Ain't I worth it?' What do you do?”
George's Pacers were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the first team to be sent home after a snap-like series. He is still watching playoff basketball and doesn't have any part of bitterness toward LeBron James or the Cavs, and isn't rooting against them despite such a devastating defeat.
“I love watching good basketball. It's kind of a motivation.”
George said Kevin Durant is his best friend among all players remaining in these year's playoffs.
The Palmdale native also talked about what it was like to get his first signature shoe line from Nike after the Rio 2016 Olympics came to a close.
“I drew a shoe up and sent it to Nike. They came back to me and said, ‘This is the (expletive) shoe. They were brutally honest. I thought it was great. I spent 5 or 6 hours trying to draw the shoe, and it took them about 20 seconds to rip the whole picture up.”
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