Chauncey Billups: “Paul George, the Legit MVP Candidate”

Chauncey Billups said it right when he introduced Paul George right after the game against the Utah Jazz.

“I’m here right now with the MVP, the legit MVP candidate, Paul George.”

The 2004 NBA Finals MVP stated what many knew, but somehow, weren’t emphasizing as they should. It was all about James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo since the year started, and most of the experts and the media faces praised George, but none of them was putting him in the first plan.

And they should do that. Last night’s game-winner, one of many this season, forced everyone to stop for a moment and realize that this guy has all the necessary attributes to be the MVP.

With 0.8 seconds in the second overtime against the Jazzers, PG took the responsibility and made a perfect floater, over one of the best blockers and defenders in the league, Rudy Gobert. He later revealed that he practices shots like that all the time, but still, he made it look so easy.

PAUL. GEORGE. FTW. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dfNJVBh9c6

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 23, 2019

“Had to get it up there,” George said. “It’s a shot that I work on. Just thank God it went in.”

That last bucket was his 45th of the night, and he also added 15 boards and 8 assists, pulling his team alongside Russell Westbrook who had two points fewer.

But in the most important moments of the game, George was left without the support of the 2017 MVP, as he picked up his sixth foul. With a minute to go until the end of the first overtime, Russ had to leave the court.

Still, that didn’t bother former Indiana Pacer, because he once again proved that he is the guy who can step up when needed and solve the game on his own. It was like that with the final shot.

Billups wasn’t the only person who publicly backed George’s MVP candidacy last night. Utah’s coach Quin Snyder had no doubt about that, and he praised the players current level of play, saying that the game-winner was a beauty.

“Tip your hat to him for making that play,” coach Snyder said. “It’s a heckuva play and that’s why he is who he is. He’s right there in the MVP conversation. It certainly looked like that tonight.”

PG averages 38.9 points over the last 10 matches, and because of him, the Thunder are still in the combination to reach the second place in the West if not the No.1 seed. Right now, Denver is two games ahead, Golden State four, so there are solid chances for their improvement.

However, George doesn’t want to put himself in front of other guys on the team. Unlike some other players who love to stress out their influence on the game, OKC’s forward was more of a team player, despite his unreal numbers.

“The floater wouldn’t have happened if those dudes didn’t make big shots when we needed, because I went cold there for a minute, but those dudes stepped up.” 5-time All-Star said referring to his teammates.

For the first time since 2016, the Thunder have a team which could compete for the title, and more importantly, they have the chemistry on the floor which makes them look good.

With all due respect towards the previous two seasons, back then, it was all about Russell Westbrook and his stats, and the team was one-dimensional. If he plays good, then they might have a chance to win games, if not, failure is guaranteed.

With PG’s arrival, Westbrook became more rational and restrained, and other players improved their level of play also. It seems that they all realized that now there is a chance for doing something big during the postseason, not only play to pump stats.

We’re anxious to see the rest of the season and how this story goes. Don’t be too surprised if you see both George and OKC receiving some trophies.