George: He is the biggest winner in the finals by supporting the two teams in two trades?

The most magical thing in the NBA these days is not that the Thunder and the Pacers are going to play in the Finals - after all, the two teams are indeed strong this year; but in the finals promotional posters, in addition to the popular chickens such as Alexander and Halliburton, Paul George is still the name of Paul George. But don't laugh - George is the hidden "chief screenwriter" who can achieve this point in the two finals.

George: The most "win" super big this season?

Let's look at George's data this year: his average score plummeted from 23 points to 16 points, his real shooting percentage dropped from 61% to 54%, and the team's record directly slipped from the edge of the playoffs to the third-last in the East.

But strange things came - his podcast traffic increased, his salary was paid (190 million in 4 years), and even the finals promotional poster left him a place.

Why? Because the legacy he left behind in the past "run away" has now been fully fulfilled. The story of the Pacers: George "runs away", but "sorted" the Eastern Conference Finals has to start in 2017. That year, the Pacers were swept by the Cavaliers. George just shouted "I want to bring Indian City to win the championship" at a baseball event. He turned around and applied for a deal and designated the Lakers' current home.

The Pacers were anxious and quickly found the takeover man, and finally sent George to the Thunder, and replaced Oladipo and Sabonis Jr. Now, how is this a transaction? It's simply a "George brand seed gift package".

First line: Oladipo was later reimbursed for his knees, and the Pacers had no choice but to send him to the Rockets for LeVer and two second round picks. In 2023, they used one of the second round picks + No. 29 to exchange the Thunder for the first round pick in 2024; this year they used this first round pick + another first round, and exchanged the Raptors for Sika - the MVP of the East Finals was him.

Second line: LeVer was sent to the Cavaliers and changed to the 2022 second round pick + the 2023 first round pick. The Pacers used these two draws to choose Nembhard (average of 12.8 points and 5.1 assists per game in the playoffs) and Shepard (average of 3.4 points per game), directly making up for the depth of the lineup.

The third line: In 2022, the Pacers traded Sabonis from the Kings for Halliburton - this guy is now the Pacers' core, averaging 18.6 points and 9.2 assists per game. Although the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals gave Sika, everyone knows that he is the "brain" of this Pacers.

When George "run away" back then, Pacers fans were so angry that they were so angry that they were so angry that they were so angry that they were so angry that they were so angry. What about now? Not only did the fans not scold him, they also took the initiative to recommend his podcast - after all, the assets he left behind would allow the Pacers to enter the finals 25 years later, which would definitely make a fortune.

Thunder Chapter: George "Jumping Job ", and the story of George and Thunder is more direct. In 2019, Leonard recruited George to the Clippers. Thunder manager Presti was prepared (the two signed a "going verbal agreement at any time"), and took the opportunity to scrape 5 first rounds + 2 swap rights from the Clippers, and also left Gallinari and Alexander (SGA).

Now, these 5 first rounds + swap rights are simply "Thunder Reconstruction Fund":

SGA: The potential rookie that year, averaging 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists this year, won the regular season MVP + Western Conference Finals MVP, becoming the Thunder's "new facade".

Jaylen Williams: He was selected with the sign left by George in 2022, and he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this year. The second in command is stable.

Other operations: Garlinari signs first and then exchanges to free up salary space, eats Horford's contract and then trades for the first round. In the end, although some of these signs have changed "scratch materials", the two keys have grown into SGA and Jaylen. In this wave of operations, Presti's "patience" won again.

When George was in the Thunder, the highest glory was when he entered the Western Conference Finals in 2019; what about the current Thunder? 68 wins and 14 losses to the finals, which is even stronger than the "top three" period.

George: In the podcast, Halliburton is a "slap in the face"?

The most interesting thing is George's recent podcast - he cited Halliburton as a "superstar, league appearance" and the Eastern Conference Final MVP was awarded to Sika.

Does this look like he shouted "I want to take the Pacers to win the championship" back then, but he left by himself. The Pacers entered the finals with his trading assets? George himself felt wronged: "I played well with the Pacers back then, why don't they remember it?" But the reality is that the Pacers' current best record in history and the Thunder's current championship strength were only achieved after he left.

George's "legacy basketball" is more precious than the peak

George may be the most contradictory star in the NBA: he never won the championship at the peak, but now his data plummets, but he has become the "godfather of the two finals teams". His story tells us: the relationship between players and the team is not only "sharing hardships", but also "the assets I will leave to help you win after you leave."

Now the Thunder and the Pacers are fighting in the finals, and George is talking about basketball on the podcast - this scene is quite interesting: a former star continues to participate in the story of basketball in another way. Perhaps one day in the future, when the Clippers and the 76ers (George has played in these two teams) also enter the finals with his legacy, we will find that George's "legacy basketball" is the longest legend.