2018 Paul George was DIFFERENT

Throughout Paul George's entire career, he's only averaged over 25 points once, and that was back in his 2018-19 season with OKC, where Paul George was most likely the best two-way player across the league, finishing 3rd in both the voting for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. So in this video, we're going to do a deep dive on the film to see exactly why PG had such an effective year. Now again, in his second year with OKC, George averaged a career high 28 points, and when looking back at his numbers across the board, PG didn't exactly have a crazy efficient year, shooting under 40% from both the 3 and mid range. But the one thing that stands out from this year was how aggressive George played. That year, PG averaged just under 10 three-point attempts per game, which was 3rd across the league behind Steph Curry and a prime James Harden. A big chunk of George's three-point looks came in transition, where he had the green light to pull the trigger with any given space. Notice on this play how sagged back the sun's defense is, giving George plenty of time to pick up into his shot. When shooting off the dribble, George wastes absolutely no movement into his pull-up. After his pick-up, he's elite at simply getting to a stable base and bringing the ball to his set point with no wasted movement. One small detail that makes George elite at shooting off the dribble is his ability to get the ball to his set point before his feet are set. Notice on this play how PG is going to push the defense back by going between, then as he separates, notice how he gets the ball to his shoulder level before his right foot is completely set, and once that foot comes down, George is ready to immediately fire. We can see a similar effect on this play, where George now picks up with his right foot slightly back, but he again gets the ball up to his set point first, and gets his body square at second, allowing him to get his jumper off over this heavy contest. And on top of those quick mechanics, George is also a lengthy 6'8", and this also plays a big factor in his ability to get shots off. So if you were to create the ideal pull-up shooter, he would most likely have the build and skillset of Paul George, having size, length, polished mechanics, and a really quick trigger off the dribble, but another skillset that pairs really well with all those tools is PG's ball handling. Obviously George is well known for being one of the most fluid players across the league, where he just makes the game look really easy. Off the dribble, PG loves to float with the ball by either skipping up or lateral. Now this does a couple of things, first it gets a reaction out of the defense, while also giving George time to read the defense. Whether his man decides to also rise up, slide a cut off an angle, or stay put, George is able to use that reaction to count, but most of his reads are pretty simple. Take this play for example, you'll see PG go behind and get to this lateral skip, then bring the ball back through to skip across to his left, and when the defense gives him too much airspace off the screen, George is going to simply gather into his shot. When floating with the ball and creating space, George's ball control also plays a huge factor, where his sticky handle allows him to sell moves while also maintaining control of the ball. You'll see him here cross the ball to his left, and when this defender completely walls him off, George has the control to transfer the ball behind, to then again immediately gather into his shot. I like this move here, where George is going to sell that right hand drive by bringing the ball up and dropping his shoulders, and when he gets this defender leaning, PG is going to transfer the ball through and skip into his jumper. Now what ties everything together from George's pace, ball control, and pull up shooting is going to be his footwork. When separating out into his jumper, PG is often moving at a variety of angles, from sideways, diagonal, or even backwards. But on pretty much every one of these shots, George always has a stable base, which all comes back to his footwork, allowing him to fully commit his body into moves, to then stop and separate out into unbalanced looks. One of PG's favorite separation moves is his between escape dribble, and the footwork on this shot is really tough. You'll see him here turn the corner off his screen, and watch how he's going to push off and drop his level as if he's going to attack downhill, but then he's going to slide the ball through and hop his feet back, to land perfectly on balance for his pull up. This is also a tough move here, where George is going to pivot his right foot across his frame, to then take a dribble and extend that left foot forward, and when Jimmy Butler's hips completely open up, PG is going to snatch the ball back through, and land perfectly on balance into his jumper. Now throughout this year, George also did a big chunk of his work in the midrange, and this is where everything comes back to George's footwork and balance into his shot, being able to navigate off screens and find windows to pull up, or attack with a head of steam to then stop and pop these looks. We'll see him here pushing the ball in transition, and watch him in stride transfer all his weight to his outside foot, to then cross the ball over and rise up for an on balance jumper. When getting to these in between looks, PG also has really underage strength, and that really shows in his mid post game, where he's great at holding his ground and working his way to spots. In the mid post, George is also great at keeping the game simple, by just catching and feeling the defense's weight, to then find windows for his pull up. On this play, he's just going to catch and turn over his left shoulder, and from this spot, he's got plenty of space to rise up. We'll see him again here catch and turn over his left shoulder, but now he's going to put the defense on their heels with a few jab steps. I love this move here, where right off the catch, George is going to fake this pivot to the baseline by splitting his stance, but then he's going to bring that right foot back, getting himself square to the basket. So as a perimeter scorer, George checks all the boxes. He's got the physical tools and skill to generate and make shots from both the 3 and mid range. So when playing with the ball on the perimeter, the defense has to respect his outside shooting, which then gives him the leverage to attack the basket. When handling the ball on the break, the defense is commonly forced to step up and meet George out beyond the 3, making it almost impossible to contain him off the dribble. Notice here how this defender has 2 feet well beyond the 3, so George is just going to push the ball to his left hand and get this easy blow by. Off the bounce, PG is also great at playing with pace, by changing his level to pull the defense out, opening up more clean drives. Watch him here slide the ball behind his back, then lift his eyes up, which completely pulls this defender out of his stance. We'll see him here hit a similar move in the mid range, where George is going to again stop and put his eyes up, then get to another push cross. Now when looking at PG's scoring in the paint throughout this season, there was absolutely no doubt that he was in his physical prime. Despite going through that devastating knee injury, George at this point in his career still had a really good first step, where he was able to get clean blowbys without having to put a bunch of combinations together. When attacking downhill, George also played really physical. On this play, he's not going to do anything super advanced off the dribble, he's just going to turn and attack into this defenders chest, to then step through him and extend to the rim. This play here is comical, where George is again attacking downhill, and he's going to completely body Rudy Goldbear underneath the basket. So physically George had the quickness and strength to pretty effectively create these downhill drives, but on top of all those physical tools, PG was also a pretty crafty finisher in traffic, where he was great at playing with pace to throw off the defense, while also using a variety of pickups and strides to slice through tight gaps. You'll see him here turn the corner off the screen, then pound the ball and sink all his way into his left foot, to then transition into this right left Eurostep. This is also a nice move here, where George is first going to hit this big with an in and out, to then pick up and attack his body into this layup. Now the next thing we have to look at is PG's defense, and this is where I think he had just as much, if not more of an impact. On the ball George was an absolute menace, where he had a unique combination of foot speed and length, which allowed him to both stay in front of the ball, to then extend up and bother any kind of shot. You'll see Donovan Mitchell here attacking on the break, and notice how PG both has the coordination to stay in front of the ball, plus the length to reach out and force his miss. George's mobility also made him elite at navigating through and around screens, and this is obviously one of the most important skills for any PDR to have. Watch him here step up, and get his hips in front of this pick, and even after Harden attacks and hits a nice snatch back, George still has the control to extend up and give a great contest. And because PG is such a lengthy punter defender, he can afford to defend the ball with a pretty big cushion by simply sitting back and relying on that length. Notice on this play how he's got both feet well below the 3, and from here he still has the reach to turn this into a really difficult look. So physically George had the length and speed to contain the ball in both pick and roll and isolation, but on top of that PG also had the strength to switch up and hold his own down low. Now he wasn't consistently guarding 4s and 5s throughout this season, but he did have the ability to switch on to bigger players, without it being a complete mismatch for OKC's defense. Now George also bought a ton of value defending off the ball, where his size and quickness in gap wreaked havoc for the offense, by both being able to slide down to stop the ball, then scramble back out to his man on the pruner. And George could also make plays from 2 passes away. Notice on this play how the ball is coming downhill, forcing this OKC big to slide over, and watch how George on the weak side is going to slide down to defend this lob, then shoot up to take away the skip pass to the corner. So defensively George could impact the game from pretty much every spot on the floor. He's got the quickness to step out and defend elite backcourt creators, the strength to switch up and guard bigger wings and forwards, plus his length and basketball feel allowed him to make plays off the ball. I think when you look at how much value and versatility George bought on both ends of the court, an argument can be made that he was the best 2 way player in the 2018-19 season. And this was most likely PG's best individual year, where he was pretty much injury free, had a defined role, and his confidence was at an all time high. If you enjoyed this breakdown, please like and subscribe, and let me know in the comments what you think of PG's game.