Paul George and Team USA Win Gold in Rio

After a sometimes difficult tournament, Paul George and Team USA dominated Serbia 96-66 in the final to bring the gold medals back home to the United States.

Paul George suffered the worst moment of his career in a Team USA jersey. Now he has achieved his greatest accomplishment while wearing one. In just two years, he went from breaking his leg in an exhibition game for his country to standing atop the podium as a world champion with a gold medal hanging from his neck.

“This is my championship right here,” said George after the game.

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Part of the beauty of international U.S. basketball is that the games are less of a star-show than the typical NBA affair. The best players do generally accumulate the most stats and move the needle. But it’s all about the joint contributions of a roster full of All-Stars (plus Harrison Barnes).

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Even amid this, Paul George stood out alongside Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony as a leader on, on and off the court. He criticized the team when it scraped by on talent alone, and walked the walk in the last two games, entering as a substitute and helping to change the tone of both games.

In the gold medal game against Serbia, just like in the semifinals against Spain, the United States trailed when Paul George checked in. He didn’t try to fix the problem by scoring a bunch of points or forcing a lot of tough shots.

He simply did what he does best: Play lockdown defense and show that shutting down the opponent can stifle their hope.

PG cut off passing lanes, fought through screens, and pestered ball-handlers. He did the things that don’t make the highlights or gain you glory among average fans.

The dividends were most apparent when he stole a pass out of the sky and raced down to the other hoop for a dunk. It was eerily similar to a steal-and-dunk play he made against Spain a few days earlier, and it again wasn’t long before a lopsided United States run ended the contest before halftime.

Kevin Durant did the rest, getting lightning hot and burying jumper after jumper on his way to 30 points. He was so good that it made it seem comical that anyone had ever doubted that the United States would win the gold.

That was how the gold medal game turned into a laugher — with the 96-66 margin becoming the biggest in an Olympic final since the Dream Team in 1992 — and it was all smiles for the U.S. players for the rest of the day.

Paul George shot poorly against Serbia, making just 2-of-9 shots but scoring 9 points on the strength of his 4-of-4 showing from the foul line. But more importantly, he grabbed 3 steals in his 22 minutes of play and posted one of the best +/- logs of the team.

For the entire competition, Paul George averaged 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and a team-high 1.5 steals per game in 19 mpg. He hit 32-of-70 shots (45.7%), including 8-of-28 (28.6%) from 3-point range.

In overall totals, he finished in the top five on the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He lead the team in steals and came in second in blocks, showing just how much impact his defense had even in box-score terms.

For a defensive specialist, he sure did fill it up, too.

In terms of points per minute, Paul George finished ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson, scorching the nets for 21.3 points per-36 minutes. This even compares favorably to team leader Durant, who scored 24.4 points per 36 minutes.

Even with all the nice numbers, Paul George’s best attributes were clearly on the defensive end, doing things that almost nobody all on the team seemed interested in doing during their summer vacation. Once the knockout round hit, PG dug in on nearly every defensive possession, looking to dedicate himself to being the anchor even if he knew he was the only one really knuckling up.

It was contagious at times. He helped show Team USA that they are at their best when creating turnovers and that the game is most fun when a collection of uber-athletes are able to stare down their helpless opponents amid the chaos that comes when the teams are changing ends at a fever pitch.

The only criticism you could have for Paul George is that he gambled a bit too much to create turnovers. But in relative terms, a sin of misplaced effort seems a small one compared to the widespread disinterest most of his scoring-minded teammates displayed on the other side of the court.

Indiana Pacers fans should be ecstatic by what they saw from their captain in Brazil.

His biggest advocates spend a lot of time talking about how Paul George remains underrated. If he was, that view should be dead now.

PG wowed the NBA world in this years playoffs, and he is the player who will walk away the the least scathed by a Team USA performance that was fine — and gold-winning — but rarely inspiring.

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And now he should be more ready than ever to start the season. George has been training alongside many of the world’s best all summer and honing his game even further. He proved himself on the biggest international stage, adding the final influx of confidence he will need to enter this year believing he is every bit as good as LeBron James, Durant, and Steph Curry.

Perhaps best of all, he did it all off the bench (mostly).

Even as he was out there thriving in a Team USA jersey, he likely did so with a chip on his shoulder. I imagine Paul George felt that Carmelo Anthony deserved a starting spot due to his status in the program. And Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant. But Klay Thompson? Coach K, one of the best basketball minds in the world, really thought that Klay Thompson deserves a starting nod over him?

If Coach K thinks that, how many other people must think that?

We can’t be having that.

So, now, with his service to country complete and his trophy case featuring its best award yet, Paul George can focus on 2016-17. He can lace em up in November and set out to convince everyone that his starting spot on Team USA never should have been a debate.

All while wearing a Pacers jersey.