Paul George made his television debut this month during the NBA Finals on ABC, joining the desk for NBA Countdown alongside Stephen A. Smith and Co.
While George was praised for bringing insight from his matchup with the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the postseason, George also caught the wrong side of a joke from Smith that didn’t sit well.
During the pregame broadcast, Smith commented that “nobody on the planet knows what it’s like to play without a star [more] than Paul George,” in reference to George’s oft-injured Los Angeles Clippers teammate Kawhi Leonard. While George laughed it off at the time, he said on an episode of Podcast P released Wednesday that the comment was out of line.
“I didn’t like that moment. I rock with Stephen A. obviously, but just let it go,” George said. “Kawhi wants to play, I will keep beating that over the head until I’m out of breath. He wants to play. (Smith) keeps making it something like Kawhi doesn’t want to play or he doesn’t want to be there. I think we rode Kawhi a lot this year to where it kind of got to the point of, ‘There’s only so much my body can take right now.’ We exhausted a lot out of Kawhi this season, and I just think at some point, your body breaks you down.”
George said he originally laughed to keep the show moving and keep the tone light, but he did not think Smith needed to take the pot shot.
“I didn’t appreciate that moment. I know I laughed just because of the situation, it was light-hearted,” George said. “But deep down, it was just like, ‘man, you gotta let that go, Stephen A.'”
Paul George is part of ESPN’s ‘NBA Countdown’ coverage for Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals. 🏀🎙️📺
Read more here: https://t.co/7CxO0YxPEP pic.twitter.com/2m8hsj6dqp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 12, 2024
George’s potential free agency also made news on the NBA Countdown desk. Potential future teammate Joel Embiid joined the panel ahead of Game 4 and eyeballed George while discussing his Philadelphia 76ers making improvements in the offseason.
In the podcast, George claimed he is still unsure whether he would like to go into broadcasting after he retires from the NBA. But he said Malika Andrews (a “star” according to George) and Kendrick Perkins helped him immensely in his first try.
It was seemingly just Smith who got on the wrong side of George by taking a shot at his teammate.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.