Why Paul George Winning a Gold Medal Matters

Paul George and Team USA won a gold medal in Rio — the final chapter in the story of his recovery.

“I remember as I’m falling back, trying to take a stand on my leg. There was nothing to stand on.”

“The only thing I can remember is seeing the bone and my leg facing the direction my body was.”

If statements like that from NBC’s feature on Paul George aren’t enough of an explanation why a gold medal matters so much to him, I’m not sure what else I can really add. But I’ll do my best.

After these Olympics and the previous NBA season, it is easy to forget what the last two years have been like for Paul George.

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Just over 24 months ago, Paul George was looking at the bone that was supposed to be in his leg sticking out of his own skin. He had every reason to worry about his career being over or if he’d be anything close to the same player he once was.

In relative terms, when we’re talking about snapping a leg in one of the most horrific ways possible on a basketball court, George did get a little bit lucky. He didn’t damage those tendons around his knee and ankle.

But that doesn’t mean coming back was easy.

There was a time when we celebrated him playing his dog in basketball as a step in the right direction. There was a time when Paul George dunking the ball in practice and then in a game were vast improvements.

There are still the moments when we gasp in fear — but there is something about George winning a gold medal with Team USA that put a final chapter on the whole saga.

"“I just finalized this whole story, put it to rest,” the Indiana Pacers forward said. “I’m officially back.”"

That’s what PG said after beating Serbia according to the Indy Star’s David Woods.

The story of George’s recovery has finally come to an end.

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This upcoming NBA season he shouldn’t be held back by tired legs after missing 76 games the year before like he was this season.

If he wins an NBA championship one day, the injury is a footnote in his past. But to win an Olympic medal in Rio meant more in terms of the story of his recovery.

When he broke his leg, he could see the letters U-S-A on his chest. He was always going to be associated with the team forever after that terrible moment, but there were two ways things could play out afterward.

Understandably, he could have never worn the red, white, and blue again, wanting to avoid risking another injury and figuratively never return to the scene of the crime. No one would have blamed him, but that would have been the story of his Team USA basketball career.

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However, he chose to come back. He chose to author his own final chapter with Team USA, no matter what the outcome was medal-wise.

He took the reins of his own destiny playing in Rio and what happened in Las Vegas two years ago was no longer the biggest moment of his career.

He came back and wrote his own ending to this story.