Paul George took a trip down memory lane on Friday and credited LeBron James for being his inspiration.
George shared a video on Instagram Friday of his monster dunk on Chris Andersen during Game 2 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals between his Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat. On the play, George drove past James and jammed on Andersen for a huge dunk.
George is now one of the best players in the league and a finalist for two huge awards. But back then, he was only in his third season in the league, and he was just getting on the map as an emerging player. He averaged 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game that season and made his first All-Star team. He went toe-to-toe with LeBron as his Pacers pushed the Heat to a Game 7 in the first of two straight conference finals between the teams.
There was so much respect between George and James that it was visible on the court during games.
George captioned the photo: “A trip down memory lane! I blame and thank @kingjames for what just happened lol you pushed me to another level bro! #MissThemLegs”
The caption and moment serves as a reminder of how facing the best competition can help bring out the best in players. Matching up against LeBron helped George take his game to new levels.
