Paul George‘s tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers came to an end this offseason. After joining the team alongside Kawhi Leonard in 2019, George left L.A. for the Philadelphia 76ers as an unrestricted free agent this summer, where he will team up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to create one of the league’s most exciting trios.
While the writing did seem to be on the wall when George and the Clippers just could not come to terms on the max extension that he coveted, it was still striking to see the team put out a statement indicating that he would be leaving. And on the most recent episode of Podcast P, George dove into one of the reasons that he decided to leave the Clippers, which revolved largely around the team’s perception in Los Angeles.
Paul George:
“I think initially, coming back to LA that was home. But it’s not the same love. Because when I was in LA, they said, ‘you should’ve been a Laker.’ That’s all I was hearing… I’m on the B Team. That’s how the vibe and the love felt.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 23, 2024
“I think initially, coming back to L.A., that was home, when I first came back to L.A.,” George said. “But it’s not the same love. Cause when I was in L.A., they like, ‘Man, you should’ve been a Laker.’ That’s all I was hearing. It wasn’t no, like, welcome to the Clippers. ‘We’re happy you’re in L.A., but you should’ve been a Laker.’ I’m on the B Team. That’s how the vibe and the love felt.”