Paul George Says Title with Clippers Would 100% 'Outweigh' Winning with Lakers

Paul George is from Palmdale, a city just north of Los Angeles, and grew up apparently liking both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers.

But for George, bringing a title to the Clippers' organization would mean much more than ever doing it for the Lakers.

"A championship with the Clippers 100 percent will outweigh a championship being with the Lakers," he told Joseph Bien-Kahn of GQ.

Bien-Kahn added that George "tells me bringing the first chip to 'this part of LA' would be legacy-defining."

There was a point in PG-13's career where the presumption was that he would one day play for the Lakers. Instead, he chose to join forces with Kawhi Leonard in 2019 with the Clippers, a duo that was supposed to make the organization often considered the other franchise in Los Angeles a true contender.

But injuries and underachieving have instead defined the pair's tenure with the Clippers thus far.

Expectations are ramping up again, however. The team is 32-28, fifth in the West, and made a trio of moves to address needs before last Thursday's trade deadline, bringing aboard Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee.

They also reportedly are interested in Russell Westbrook, George's former teammate in Oklahoma City, which would give the Clips a more traditional playmaker at point guard.

The Clippers' title hopes rest squarely on the shoulders of Leonard and George, however. The latter is having another strong season, leading the team in scoring (23.2 PPG) while adding 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three.

The 32-year-old remains one of the game's great two-way players, and if the Clippers are going to finally secure that much-desired title, he'll have to be excellent. There's little doubt how much it would mean to George.