Paul George showed us exactly how good he still is against the Nuggets

He’s still got it.

Feb 2, 2018, 12:00 PM UTC

Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Paul George was an All-Star replacement this season, but if you were plopped down on Earth to watch basketball for the first time on Thursday evening, you’d think George was the best player in the world.

The Thunder were down by as many as 20 points against the Nuggets who were raining threes all over the place. But Denver saw George at his best on Thursday night. He made plays everywhere, including the big three-point shot that nearly sent the game into overtime before the Nuggets snatched hope away with a Gary Harris three.

George isn’t the best player in Oklahoma City, and there really isn’t any debating that. But don’t get it twisted — George is still a good player and, at his peak, can be a top-10 player in the world.

George clawed and scratched the Thunder right back into the game

George scored a whopping 43 points on 26 shots and he earned every bucket, making 19 of them. In fact, he didn’t get to the free-throw line once against the Nuggets. Here’s some notes about his game:

Only nine of the players in league history have scored at least 40 points without getting to the free-throw line in a game.
Of those nine players, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon managed to top George’s 46-point total without going to the free-throw line.
Only George and Rick Barry have been able to score at least 40 points without going to the free-throw line in 36 minutes or less.

Sure, it came in a loss, but George’s game was special. This is something we don’t usually see — especially in today’s NBA where free-throw shooting is a premium. But George is a shot-maker who is more than capable of putting on performances like this.

He can create his own shot going downhill to the rack:

He’s got dribble moves that allow him to wheel his way through the defense in tight spaces, too. Plus, he has a really nice touch around the rim:

And then he can create separation for his own jump shot like he did on what would’ve been the shot that sent the game into overtime:

He does it on defense, too. Watch him blow up this dribble handoff and then take the ball coast to coast for a dunk on the other end:

Here, he has his shot blocked but never gives up on the play. He gets a deflection and creates a steal for an easy dunk the other way:

We’ve seen performances like this from George before and we’ll see more going forward when the Thunder need them. Some would think of George as Robin to Russell Westbrook’s Batman, but he’s much better than that.

Think of him more as Nightwing.

We often forget about him, but George is still a really good player

It wasn’t long ago that George was leading the Indiana Pacers to the Conference Finals while going toe to toe with LeBron James on the biggest stage. George made a name for himself through performances like this.

A ton of things have happened since: He had that awful leg injury, things fell apart with the Pacers, and he’s with the Thunder now. It’s easy to forget what he’s capable of when he’s in the shadow of Westbrook and while Victor Oladipo is stealing hearts in Indiana. But George is a talented player in his own right and proved his worth as an All-Star on Thursday night.

He isn’t perfect by any means. He says some things he probably doesn’t mean in the press and might be a bit too forthcoming with his intentions. Things didn’t end well in Indiana, and he admitted such. But his talent on the court is still certainly there.

Thursday night’s game serves as a reminder that George is still one of the best players in the league and one of the best at his position. The Nuggets managed to survive that on Thursday, but every team won’t be so lucky going forward.