I would say yes he should and he is in my top five as we just passed the quarter mark of the regular season.
Here’s my top five this far into the season:
1 Kawhi Leonard Toronto
2 Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee
3 LeBron James LA Lakers
4 Anthony Davis New Orleans
5 Paul George Oklahoma City
Paul George has been stellar for the Thunder so far this season. With Russell Westbrook missing games and at times being an offensive liability to start off the season–Paul George has picked up the slack and in my opinion easily been the Thunder’s MVP so far. And unlike Westbrook—Paul George legitimately plays both ends of the court for the duration of the game. He doesn’t cherry pick, he doesn’t take possessions off, he doesn’t take low risks on the defensive end, and in short along with Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, and Jerami Grant is the No. 1 reason why OKC is atop the West heading into New Orleans.
Paul George is off to a career type of year if you look at his stats.
24.3 points per game (12th overall NBA), 7.8 rebounds per game, 4.3 assists per game, 2.24 steals a game (leads NBA), PER 22.1
43.% from the field, 36.5% from three, 82.5% from the line.
If you’re the MVP of the team leading the West you should be in the conversation. I think for Paul George to climb in the conversation he needs to have a higher efficiency from the field and get his three point percentage above the 40% mark. Otherwise for me, he checks all the boxes especially when you consider what he brings to the table defensively. Add to the mix, Oklahoma City as a franchise has a history with its players winning regular season MVPs. Small market or not, the Thunder have a national brand. People all over the world buy their jerseys. No. 13 jerseys caught my eye on Monday night inside the Peake and quite frankly I don’t think it will be much longer before OKC fans start the MVP chant when Paul George toes the free throw line. That’s another thing George needs to improve on…increasing his volume at the free throwline. As in getting there at least eight times a game.
Paul George unlike both Cupcake and Wild Thing though doesn’t bring much super star dysfunction to the national discussion. He’s a star, but he’s in sense a blue collar star if that makes any sense. Nobody gives a shit what type of blouse he wears to the arena. Nobody follows him on Twitter to see if Draymond is still his soulmate. He doesn’t paint his nails pink. He doesn’t have ‘Wanda’ tattooed on his lower abdomen. He oddly seems somewhat normal. He’s not that type of dude and quite frankly I hope he stays that way. It’s somewhat refreshing after following the two divas….Wild Thing and Cup Cake.
So…next game I attend I’ll be cheering MVP when Paul George toes the line.