The Philadelphia 76ers saw their odds to win the 2025 NBA championship significantly improve after landing former L.A. Clippers star Paul George in what is considered the biggest move in the 2024 Free Agency.
Philly now has the second or third-best odds to win the title, depending on which betting site you are looking at. However, despite the Las Vegas oddsmakers being very optimistic about the Sixers next season, Fox Sports NBA analyst Skip Bayless isn't buying it.
Bayless thinks that while PG is a very good star, he isn't a superstar who can really move the needle.
"He's just not that guy," declared Skip. "He's not a superstar. He's just a star. And he's a really good star. But he's just a second star, he's a complimentary star. He's a 1A and a very good 1A. He's a wondrous talent."
PG as in 'Pretty Good'
Bayless went on to praise Paul's offensive prowess and George's ability to put up points, especially when he gets hot. Skip also acknowledged that PG is coming off a season where he shot 41% from three-point range. However, the FS1 analyst also mentioned that the 10th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft is no longer the elite defender he used to be.
The Fresno State product has earned four All-Defensive team nods in his career, including two on the First Team. However, the last time he made it to the list of Top 15 defenders in the league was way back in 2019. A lot has changed since then. Most notably, he is now 34 years old.
"What he is is just PG, as in 'pretty good.' The problem with Paul George is he has no real killer will to him. Really good guy, nice guy. But remember when Carmelo Anthony in their days together with Westbrook in OKC? Remember when Carmelo sat out before the media early in the playoffs and chuckled at the notion of Paul George calling himself 'Playoff P'? That should've told you all you needed to know about PG - as in pretty good," Bayless added.
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The legend of Playoff P
Playoff P was the nickname that George gave himself heading to the Thunder's first-round playoff series against rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz. In Game 1, Paul lived up to his self-given moniker as he poured in 36 on the Jazz, including 8-11 from three-point distance.
Carmelo Anthony seemed annoyed when he heard the nickname during the interviews. He told reporters that he thought they gave the nickname to Paul but later learned he gave it to himself. So after PG sputtered for 18 points on 6-21 shooting in Game 2, Anthony 'chuckled' as Skip said, while reporters asked George what happened to Playoff 2 in Game 2.
"Can't take it back now," Melo said .
It's been six years since the birth of Playoff P. And while he's had big playoff games during that span, PG's postseason performances haven't been that consistent. More significantly, they haven't yielded the expected results. The Clippers made just one appearance in the Conference Finals in his five years there. Based on that, Skip may be right about him being just 'pretty good.'
Related: Shannon Sharpe likes Paul George over Tobias Harris for the Sixers: "He was like a trustee in Philly because he got to go unscathed"
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