Paul George was once again booed when he returned to Indiana as a visiting player on Monday night, and he responded by having one of his best games of the season. While the star swingman openly admits he embraces the villain role against his former team, he says Pacers fans are directing their taunts at the wrong guy.
After he led the Los Angeles Clippers to a win over Indiana with 36 points, nine rebounds and five assists, George told reporters that he plans to tell the real story behind how and why he left the Pacers. However, now is not the time for that.
Paul George once again says “That’s Indiana for you,” when it comes to the boos. Also says one day he will do a “tell all” on why he left. pic.twitter.com/yAvC7WGyEe
— Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith_ISL) December 10, 2019
“Someday I’ll do a tell all and tell the leading events of how I left Indiana,” George said. “And I promise you, I’m not the one to boo. … I like being the villain. I’m here two nights out of the year. The people they should boo is here a lot longer than me.”
The implication from George is obviously that the Pacers’ front office is to blame for the way he left Indiana. He likely feels they made promises about the future of the team and never followed through, which is why he wanted to be traded.
Of course, Pacers fans are not the only group of NBA fans that likes to boo George, so it’s no surprise he uses it as motivation. He helped keep Indiana in contention for seven seasons before he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, so perhaps fans will one day thank him for that rather than showering him with boos.
