The Los Angeles Clippers have inked five-time All-NBA forward Paul George to a multi-year extension, the team announced Thursday.
While terms of the contract were not officially disclosed, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that George's new deal is a max extension that will pay him up to $226 million over the next five years.
George, 30, was traded to the Clippers in July 2019 after vaunted then-free agent Kawhi Leonard signed with the Los Angeles club.
Together, George and Leonard pushed the Clippers back to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in six years — where they coughed up a 3-1 lead and fell in seven games to the Denver Nuggets.
Per Wojnarowski's report, George's extension puts him under contract with Los Angeles through the 2023-24 season, and he has a player option for 2024-25. Leonard, meanwhile, is under contract for two more seasons and is on track to hit free agency in the summer of 2022.
Home is where the heart is.@Yg_Trece | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/LNW9MNZYje
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 10, 2020
In his first season with the Clippers, George posted a career-high 53.9 per cent effective shooting percentage, averaging 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He added 1.4 steals per game, one season removed from being the NBA's steals leader.
George has made six NBA all-star teams in his 10-year career, though he missed nearly all of the 2014-15 season after suffering a gruesome lower leg injury in the off-season. The Clippers are the third team he's played for, following the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers (who drafted him 10th overall back in 2010).
George was born in Palmdale, Calif., which is located in Los Angeles County. He attended Fresno State, three and a half hours north of Los Angeles.
