Former Pacers Star Paul George Ranked Shockingly High on List of Best NBA Players Ever

George was ranked ahead of four-time Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo (No. 81), Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Jimmy Butler (No. 83), 10-time champion Boston Celtics shooting guard Sam Jones (No. 85), former San Antonio Spurs Finals MVP point guard Tony Parker (No. 86), and nine-time All-Defensive Team Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green (No. 88), all of whom proved far more reliable in the playoffs.

"During a stretch from 2014 to around 2019, your nerdiest NBA friend might have made the case that George was one of the five best players in the league," Bleacher Report wrote. "That claim wasn’t far off, as PG overcame a gruesome broken leg in the summer of 2014 to earn four All-NBA nods in the next five years while regularly getting top-five DPOY consideration."

Aside from one glorious, injury-impeded season with Oklahoma City, George enjoyed his best years with Indiana, peaking with consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.

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"Though George’s best MVP finish (third) came with the Thunder in 2019, he’ll be best remembered for being the top threat on some excellent Pacers teams that reached the conference finals twice and for teaming with Kawhi Leonard on some very good but unlucky Clippers squads," Bleacher Report added.

After agreeing to a $211.6 million maximum contract with the 76ers last summer, George's production fell off a cliff. Appearing in just 41 healthy games for Philadelphia, he averaged just 16.2 points on a .430/.358/.814 slash line, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 dishes, 1.8 swipes and 0.5 blocks a night. His availability was so minimal and his play was so unproductive that George had fans pining for the days of Tobias Harris.

"A jack of all trades who could run the offense, spot up for threes, defend the opponent’s top scoring threat and wreak havoc in the passing lanes, George was a fully scalable superstar during his prime," Bleacher Report noted. "George is the first player on this list to not be 'Unranked' in his lowest Top 100 ranking."

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