The nine-time All-Star, during his more frugal days, was rescued by the Lakers legend.
Nine-time All-Star combo forward Paul George made headlines this summer when he jumped ship from the L.A. Clippers to the Philadelphia 76ers on a four-year, $211.6 million maximum contract.
When his current deal expires at the end of the 2027-28 season, George will have banked $516.9 million in on-the-court earnings alone. The 34-year-old Fresno State product wasn’t always a surefire superstar, however.
In the lead-up to the 2012 London Olympics, a young George was added to USA Basketball’s Select Team, to train against Team USA’s eventual gold-winning squad. Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA shooting guard Kobe Bryant was returning to play for his second straight Olympic squad, and was joined by eventual Lakers LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis.
George himself would go on to play for Team USA at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
During a recent episode of his show “Podcast P With Paul George,” George revealed how, as a money-conscious young Indiana Pacers star still on his rookie-scale deal, he was watching his wallet during a night out with the Select Team — when a very established Bryant came to his financial rescue and ensured he would have a night to remember with some young colleagues.
“I’ve got a funny story,” George shared. “We’re playing Team USA [in Las Vegas] — this is the young guys: me, John [Wall], Boogie [DeMarcus Cousins], we go out. We still on our rookie deals. At this time I’m not spending no money like that. I don’t know what’s my future gonna be like. John and DeMarcus, you can tell they’re gonna be stars, but I’m… working my way up. They’re finally like, ‘Yo, let’s get a little Ace bottle’… So we get the little bottle. Next thing you know, the bottle girl’s coming out, it’s the jumbo joint, three of them.”
“So I’m nervous as hell… Next thing you know, we standing on the sofas. We get a tug from behind. Turn around, it’s Kobe. He’s like, ‘Hey man, y’all enjoy the night.’ And he just walks out… And so the girl comes [and says], ‘Yeah, Kobe took care of it.'”
