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Paul George has made it clear that Kawhi Leonard is the top option on the Los Angeles Clippers roster. Heading into the new season, George wanted to clear some things. "Yeah, look at the [Miami Heat] wing-wing DWade [Dwyane Wade] and LeBron [James.
I think it just comes down to -- listen, Kawhi is the No. 1. And I am totally fine with that. I think I try to complement him with being able to take the load off of him. Everybody says, 'Kawhi [and] you are 1 and 1, [or] 1A, 1B.'
I'll publicly say, I'm the 2. Kawhi's the 1, I'm the 2. So that part we nipped in the bud. Like there's no ego when it comes to that," George said, per ESPN.
George, Leonard finally healthy
George missed a good part of the 2021/22 season, while Leonard missed the entire last season.
Now, both George and Leonard are back to being 100% health-wise. George and Leonard, who agreed to sign with the Clippers in the summer of 2019, are hoping this is the year they deliver the Clippers their first championship.
"We're both unselfish. My 12th year, his 13th year, we've been through this before, so I feel like just having those years under our belt and, obviously, like I said, we have a genuine relationship, and it just carries over [into how we lead]," Leonard explained.
After Leonard tore his ACL during the 2021 postseason, George became the Clippers' top option. With Leonard back to the team, George says he will do his best to as best as he can from his role of being the secondary option.
"I believe in my talent and what I can do. And I believe on any night of what I am capable of. But I feel my job is to make everybody better. That is what I try to do when I am on the floor, just make the game easy for everybody, whether it is creating or just being aggressive and making reads off of that.
I think we will go a long ways if everybody just knows their role and what we bring to the table. Everything else is easy; we just roll the ball out, and we get after it," George said. The Clippers, who also acquired former All-Star guard John Wall this offseason, are considered among the most talented teams in the NBA. It remains to be seen if George and Leonard can help the Clippers win their first championship this year.