The Paul George era is officially over.
The 34-year-old, 14-year NBA veteran left the LA Clippers as an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, later agreeing to join the Philadelphia 76ers. George’s departure closes a chapter of Clippers basketball that was supposed to result in a championship.
Five summers after the Clippers sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City to land George and pair him with 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the NBA’s rising stars, a member of the All-NBA First Team the past two seasons. As for George, he and Leonard led the Clippers to just 13 playoff games in five years. LA never got its championship from the two stars.
That probably underscores the disappointment of the Leonard-George era — also known as the 213 era, named for Los Angeles’ area code — the most. But to really examine the highs and lows of George’s time with the Clippers, and how it ended so meekly, you have to go back to how George got here:
July 5, 2019
On the same night an earthquake suspended summer-league play in Las Vegas, the Clippers agreed to a trade with Oklahoma City to acquire George, then an MVP finalist after averaging 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists with the Thunder.
George was joined by Southern California native Leonard, who decided to leave the Toronto Raptors after leading them to their first NBA championship. The Clippers entered the 2019-20 season with the best odds to win the championship since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1984, and the best odds in the entire league, per Sports Odds History.
November 2019
George made his Clippers debut Nov. 14 at New Orleans after missing the first 11 games of the season because of dual shoulder surgery. He finished with 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting and nine rebounds, but the Clippers fell 132-127.
The Clippers returned home for George’s debut at Staples Center, beating the Atlanta Hawks by 49 points and starting what would be a season-long seven-game win streak. The following game was George’s first against Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder since the trade. George made a game-winning 3 with less than a minute to go:
It wasn’t until Nov. 20, 2019, George’s fourth game with the Clippers, that he played with Leonard. The 213 era was finally underway.
December 13, 2019
The Clippers went to Minnesota without point guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams. Rookie Terance Mann got the start at the point, but everything ran through George and Leonard, who had to deal with the defensive coverage of Andrew Wiggins and future Clipper Robert Covington, among others.
The result? George scored 46, his high as a Clipper, on 17-of-31 shooting from the field. George also led the Clippers with seven assists, while Leonard added 42 points. The Clippers needed all of the offense to win 124-117. It’s the only time in Clippers franchise history two players scored 40 points apiece in the same game.
August 8, 2020
The NBA season was suspended in March 2020, not resuming until the end of July because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the more notorious events occurred after Lillard missed clutch free throws at the end of a game against the Clippers, with George and Patrick Beverley mocking then-Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
On Instagram, George mocked Lillard further, saying that Portland would be “getting sent home this year.”
Lillard responded, “Keep switching teams, running from the grind. You boys is chumps.”
Sept. 15, 2020
After an extended break because the COVID-19 pandemic, George’s first postseason with LA was disappointing. The Clippers suffered a collapse in the NBA bubble after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the semifinals. As the Nuggets came away with a 104-89 win to eliminate the Clippers, George finished with just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting and had five turnovers while Leonard had 14 points on 6-of-22 shooting.
After the loss, George said, “I think internally, we’ve always felt this was not a championship-or-bust year for us.”
The fallout from the bubble was swift, as the Clippers fired head coach Doc Rivers 13 days later. Assistant Tyronn Lue eventually was promoted as Rivers’ replacement.
Dec. 4, 2020
With only one year left on George’s guaranteed deal, George made it clear where he wanted to be long term.
“I want to retire a Clipper,” George said in a news conference with reporters. “I’ll say that every year. This is where my heart is.”
The Clippers reciprocated their desire to retain George. Just six days later, they inked him to a four-year contract extension, giving him an additional $190 million on top of the $35.4 million he was already guaranteed in 2020-21.
June 14, 2021
The Clippers dropped the first two games of the quarterfinals against the Dallas Mavericks but came back to win Games 6 and 7. Leonard made a postseason career-best 18 field goals in a 45-point performance to win Game 6 in Dallas.
In the semifinals against the top-seeded Utah Jazz, the Clippers were again down 2-0. George and Leonard scored 30-plus points each in Games 3 and 4 to tie the series. But in the fourth quarter of Game 4, Leonard suffered a partially torn ACL when he was hit on a fast break by Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles.
Aug. 13, 2021
Leonard had the opportunity to sign a two-year contract after opting out of his original deal with the Clippers in the 2021 offseason. But he instead lined up a new four-year contract with George’s extension. Both players had 2024 player options in their deals, opening a three-year window. But Leonard missed the first year of that window as he recovered from surgery to repair his right knee.
Dec. 6, 2021
George was off to a great start to the 2021-22 season, averaging 25.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.7 3s per game in 24 games. George had only missed one game entering a December contest against the Portland Trail Blazers. That’s when Portland center Jusuf Nurkić fell on George’s arm:
It appears that this is the sequence that altered Paul George’s season — and in turn, the season of the 2021-22 LA Clippers.
George did not attempt a 3-pointer for the rest of this game, took two weeks off, came back for two games, then was diagnosed with torn UCL in right elbow. pic.twitter.com/C2uJlJwLjI
— Law Murray 🛝 (@LawMurrayTheNU) April 20, 2022
On Christmas Day, George was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his elbow. He returned in late March, playing just 31 games that season. The Clippers finished 42-40 and made the Play-In Tournament.
Oct. 20, 2022
After missing 14 months because of right knee surgery, Leonard returned to the Clippers for the regular-season opener against the Lakers. But because of knee stiffness and an ankle sprain, he missed 19 of the first 24 games of the 2022-23 season. George missed 16 of the 47 games, resulting in the Clippers starting the season 23-24. By the time George and Leonard were both ready to play five-straight games together for the first time, the Clippers knew the roster had to be retooled.
Feb. 9, 2023
As part of three separate trades, the Clippers acquired Mason Plumlee, Eric Gordon and Bones Hyland while parting ways with Luke Kennard and point guards Reggie Jackson and John Wall. Mann had assumed the nominal starting point guard role in early January, which made George the primary playmaker.
The day after the trades, George publicly vouched for former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook, who had been traded from the Lakers to the Jazz and was considering a buyout. Thirteen days later, Westbrook was signed to the Clippers following a buyout from the Jazz.
March 21, 2023
The Clippers were able to stabilize with Westbrook in the lineup, winning five of six games entering the first game of a miniseries against the Thunder. By this point, Gilgeous-Alexander had broken out as an All-Star player. Those inflection points sharpened when George suffered a serious right knee injury in the fourth quarter while battling Thunder small forward Luguentz Dort for a rebound. George managed to escape with a sprain, but his season was over, preventing him from appearing in the playoffs for the second year in a row.
April 20, 2023
Prior to Game 3 of the Western Conference first round against the Phoenix Suns, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank announced that Leonard had a right knee injury that would prevent him from playing that night with the series tied at 1-1. Five days later, the Suns eliminated Clippers. Including Play-In Tournament games, the Clippers went 0-4 in the postseason with Leonard and George sidelined. Frank later revealed that Leonard had a torn meniscus in his surgically repaired knee.
June 22, 2023
After the NBA Draft, Frank and newly promoted general manager Trent Redden discussed the new collective bargaining agreement and how the restrictions of the second apron would change how the Clippers could build the roster. Leonard became extension-eligible the following month, while George was extension-eligible beginning in September.
June 29, 2023
James Harden opted into the final year of his Philadelphia 76ers contract while demanding a trade to the Clippers. Public negotiations between the two teams dominated the offseason. Harden discussed joining the Clippers with Leonard, George, and Westbrook, and he hoped that the trade would be facilitated quickly.
But as 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey held on to Harden to seek the best trade possible while also holding out hope that Harden would reconsider, Harden grew increasingly frustrated. It reached a head in August when Harden repeatedly called Morey a liar while on a promotional event in China, declaring that he would not play for him. The NBA fined Harden $100,000 for public trade demands following a league investigation into his comments, confirming that Harden did not believe that the 76ers would accommodate his request to be traded to the Clippers.
Oct. 4, 2023
In Hawaii, George was asked about the status of his contract extension talks. While George said it would be “a dream” to “compete for multiple championships while I’m a Clipper,” he also suggested there was work for both sides to do to reach an agreement.
Nov. 1, 2023
The Clippers and Sixers finally completed a trade that sent Harden to LA. Like the Westbrook addition, the Clippers lost the first five games Harden was with the team, dropping the team’s record to 3-7 through 10 games.
Jan. 10, 2024
Leonard signed a three-year contract extension with the Clippers to keep him with the team through the 2026-27 season and ensure that he would open the Intuit Dome as the face of the franchise. Leonard explained that he took less so that the Clippers could re-sign both George and Harden.
Kawhi Leonard: “I think for the most part, everybody is coming back… with me signing an extension, I think it gives us a chance to sign both of those players (PG/H)” pic.twitter.com/JNtx4AYnDz
— Law Murray 🛝 (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 11, 2024
April 23, 2024
Leonard missed the last eight games of the regular season because of inflammation in his surgically-repaired right knee. He returned for Game 2 of the Western Conference first rounds against the Mavericks, but he was a shell of himself. He missed all five 3s in Game 2 and only scored nine points in Game 3. The Clippers shut him down after. George and Leonard would never play in the postseason together again.
May 3, 2024
The Clippers tied the series at 2-2 to reclaim home-court advantage, but then lost Game 5 at home by 30 points, the worst postseason margin of defeat in team history. George only scored 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting in Game 6 as the Clippers were eliminated in Dallas.
That night, George hedged on a return to the Clippers, while lamenting the lack of youth and health on the roster.
As for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, Oklahoma City went 57-25 in the regular season, earning the Western Conference’s top seed. Gilgeous-Alexander was runner-up for the NBA’s MVP Award as the Thunder made a run in the postseason that ended in six games to the Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.
June 14, 2024
George was on the ESPN NBA Countdown set ahead of Game 4 between the Celtics and Mavericks. Joel Embiid made a surprise appearance and sat next to George. Days later, George said on his podcast that he is looking for the “right style of basketball” as part of his free agency decision.
June 27, 2024
Following the NBA Draft, Frank described conversations with George regarding a contract extension as “ongoing” while expressing hope that the Clippers could retain him if he reaches the open market.
Lawrence Frank discussed Paul George, James Harden negotiations.
The event of George opting out of his contract and reaching unrestricted free agency is a possibility that the Clippers have discussed for several weeks and still seems to be the most likely scenario. pic.twitter.com/5eJu7Ixj5l
— Law Murray 🛝 (@LawMurrayTheNU) June 28, 2024
June 29, 2024
George opted out of the final year of his contract, taking until the last hour after the Clippers explored possible trades for him to opt in to the final year.
June 30, 2024
The Clippers released a statement announcing that George would not be re-signed after five years with the team. Earlier in the day, Harden signed a two-year contract to remain with the Clippers.
July 1, 2024
George agreed to a four-year contract with the 76ers, officially ending his pairing with Leonard as the Clippers get ready to enter a new era with Intuit Dome.
(Photo: Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)
