Playoff P is probably one of the most infamous nicknames in NBA history. Although the nickname sounds cool, the player who gave it himself hasn't been able to live up to that billing.
The player we are talking about is incoming Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George , who in 2018 gave himself that nickname in a room with reporters before the start of the Playoffs.
"Y'all ain't met Playoff P yet, huh?" asked George. "It's a fun guy to watch. It's an out-of-body person where I just lock in and put myself in a different zone."
Playoff P debuted in Game 1 of the Thunder vs Jazz series
George stepped up the monicker in Game 1 of the Thunder's first-round series against the Utah Jazz. In that contest, PG lit up the scoreboards with 36 points on 13-20 shooting, including an impressive 8-11 clip from three-point distance. With Paul red hot, OKC took the series opener 116-108.
During the post-game interviews, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook were questioned about Playoff P, and Melo shared his thoughts, asking, "That's his new name? Playoff P?" before the two had a good laugh about it.
The day after Game 1, Anthony told reporters that George can have that nickname if he plays that well.
"I thought you guys gave him that name," Anthony said . "And I found out this morning that he named himself that. I thought it had to come from somebody else. But when you have a performance like that, he can stick with Playoff P."
Related: When Bird predicted MJ would become the future of the NBA during his rookie year: "Pretty soon, this place will be packed every night, not just when the Celtics come to town"
From Playoff P to Playoff failure
Unfortunately for PG, that was the only game where Playoff P showed up in that postseason series. George went 6-21, 7-16, 9-21, 12-26, and 2-16 from the field in the next five games of the series, with the Thunder losing four out of those five contests and getting eliminated in the postseason.
We can go on if we want to list PGs' other pathetic shooting performances in the playoffs. However, overall, Paul's career shooting splits in the playoffs are .423/.352/.826, which are worse than his regular season percentages of .440/.385/.854. It's not a significant drop-off, but it's also not reflective of Playoff P.
During the Clippers' first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the recently concluded 2024 NBA Playoffs, George averaged just 19.5 points per game on a 41.1% FG shooting clip. That's definitely not a Playoff P type of performance, either.
Now, Paul takes his act to Philly, where the fans hope to finally get past the second round of the playoffs in the Joel Embiid era. Oddsmakers like the move, but history seems to say otherwise.
Related: Skip Bayless says PG has never been a superstar: "Remember when Carmelo chuckled at the notion of Paul George calling himself 'Playoff P'?"
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