Paul George Captures His Olympic Dream with Team USA
By Kyle Nishida
In August of 2014, Indiana Pacers‘ star Paul George suffered a horrific leg injury in a Team USA exhibition game. Two years later, George is now an Olympic gold medalist.
The United States Men’s National Basketball team achieved its ultimate goal for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Team USA claimed the gold medal with a 96-66 win over Serbia in the championship game.
Specifically, Paul George scored nine points but only made two of his nine shot attempts. He also added three steals, two assists and one rebound to his overall box score.
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Everyone from stars like Kevin Durant to head coach Mike Krzyzewski celebrated their victory once the final horn sounded. However, no one from that team will probably cherish the gold medal more than Pacers’ star Paul George.
Remember, it took incredible mental toughness for George to come back to Team USA. George suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in basketball history while trying to make the Team USA roster for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
A lot of guys would have shied away from this opportunity after suffering an injury like that, but George did not. He left the injury in the past and only focused on winning a gold medal for his country.
Throughout the Olympics, George gave everything he had towards accomplishing that goal. Despite not being a consistent scoring option, he still found ways to make a huge impact for Team USA.
He was a game-changing force on defense. Whether he was starting or coming off the bench, Krzyzewski put George on the opponent’s best scorer. George always did a solid job shutting his opponent down.
He played suffocating man-on-man defense and played the passing lanes well. He usually led Team USA in steals in every game of this Olympic competition.
Overall, George played a key role in Team USA’s success, and in the end, the Americans accomplished what they were expected to do in the Rio: win the gold medal.
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It is a terrific accomplishment, and every player should feel great about this accomplishment; especially Paul George. A gold medal is something George has always wanted, and now, he has one hanging around his neck.