It seems evident that the next time that Paul George takes the court he will be wearing number 13 on his jersey. He posted the above image on his Instagram account today with the caption “YoungTrece.”
Trece means 13 in Spanish and Paul George is young, so I’m just putting two and two together here. Additionally, others have speculated that this change is in the making.
Reports: Injured @Pacers F Paul George will switch his jersey number from No. 24 to No. 13 next season. pic.twitter.com/Af7dV1fXnC
— The Association on FOX (@TheAssociation) August 11, 2014
George discussed the possibility of switching numbers last season during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
I believe a player has to officially alert the NBA of a number change — as LeBron James famously did during his final season in Cleveland, when he applied to go from number 23 to number 6.
This paves the way for him to fully adopt a “PG-13” nickname that may or may not become embraced by fans and followers of the NBA. Sometimes such self-imposed nicknames take off — like with Black Mamba or Swaggy P. Other times, like with The Machine or The Big Cactus, it is either laughable or just soon forgotten.
When Paul George does comeback with his new number, we will find out whether or not this one sticks. I bet it does, actually, since it’s an easy one to reference in the mold of CP3 or CB4. That doesn’t make it a particularly good nickname, but it isn’t offensive or anything.
All hail, PG-13.