Paul George shares crazy Larry Bird story
By Mike Dyce
SLAM sat down with a question and answer session with Indiana Pacers’ Paul George. The 23 year old is coming off a successful season that took the Pacers all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. He earned All-Star performances with per-game averages of 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.
SLAM asked George about things ranging from his outfit for the ESPYs, Andrew Wiggins, sponsorship deals with Gatorade and the playoffs.
His most interesting tidbit might be about a story about Larry Bird putting up shots.
From SLAMonline.com:
"SLAM: I believe you had talked about seeing Larry shoot in the gym.PG: He picked a ball up that had rolled over. He rolled up his sleeves and made about 15 in a row and just walked out like nothing just happened. It was the craziest thing I’ve seen.SLAM: How did you and the rest of the team react?PG: We were speechless. We didn’t know whether to keep shooting or just to end practice. It was sweet, man."
George also talked about how Larry Bird had been an influence in his growth.
“He’s had a lot of influence. Larry was the first person I really talked to when I was struggling in the Playoffs last year (2012) against Miami. We had at least a one-hour or two-hour phone convo about what I need to improve on, what areas I can get better at. How to attack, how to play within the team. He’s been someone in my corner during my career.”