Paul George Says OKC Thunder 'Deserve' Championship

Of all the great players that have come through the Oklahoma City Thunder in the last decade-plus, Paul George ranks among the best.

While the pairing of George and Russell Westbrook never amounted to any playoff success, the forward was an important building block for the franchise following the departure of Kevin Durant. While he eventually asked for a trade after the 2019 playoffs, George choosing to extend his contract in the first place was a huge win for Oklahoma City.

Perhaps the biggest part of his legacy is what the Thunder received in return: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a plethora of first round draft picks — one of those being Jalen Williams. That duo just brought Oklahoma City its first-ever NBA championship.

Six years removed from his time with the Thunder, George was glad to see the franchise get what it's long sought after.

"Shout out Sam Presti," George said on a recent episode of Podcast P. "Shout out Clay Bennett. Shout out Oklahoma. Still got love for that organization. They deserve it."

It's hard to imagine Oklahoma City getting to this point without George. Not just because of the trade package it got for him, but how he helped continue the Thunder's path of being a competitor in the Western Conference. His extension reinstalled faith that Oklahoma City could attract and keep star players, whether that be through the draft, free agency or trades.

George finished third in MVP voting in the 2018-19 season, averaging 28 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. As big of a legacy as Westbrook grew with the Thunder, by that point, he had been surpassed as the team's leading offensive scorer.

Even though his tenure ended relatively quickly, there has hardly been any real bad blood between George and Oklahoma City since the trade happened. On the podcast, he even compared Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 2024-25 campaign to that of Michael Jordan, while also giving high praise towards incoming rookie Nikola Topic.

Not every great player can bring a franchise a championship. For George, it just didn't pan out the way he or the Thunder hoped. Even with that, however, he won't be forgotten in the lineage.