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Back in 2014, Paul George‘s future in the NBA and with basketball in general was put into jeopardy. He suffered a gruesome leg injury during a scrimmage with Team USA, and doubt started to creep in about if he could successfully recover.
Among all of the outside support he received, the most meaningful came from Kobe Bryant.
From Sean Deveney of Sporting News:
“The best advice given to me was from Kobe (Bryant),” George said. “I remember a phone call he gave me, he was basically saying, attack this rehab the same way you attack the summer working out. That was the best advice I could have gotten at that point. It became a different challenge. It was not preparing for the NBA season, it was preparing for the comeback.”
George eventually fought his way back at the end of the 2014-15 season, and now he appears to be back to his old self.
Now, he hopes to take the role that Kobe took with him, with another athlete.
French gymnast Samir Ait suffered a horrific broken leg injury while landing on a vault in the Rio Olympics. George tweeted out his positive thoughts shortly after, and while he hasn’t been able to visit Samir, he hopes to do so soon.
When he does, George hopes to serve as a form of inspiration for the gymnast, just like Kobe was for him two years back.
More from Deveney:
“I am not sure what his status is, if he got discharged from the hospital or not,” George said. “But at some point, I am going to go over and have a chat with him, sit down with him. Try to be an inspiration to him. I know what it is like going through it. Hopefully, the advice I can give can be useful.”