Photo: Los Angeles Clippers/Twitter

For Paul George, the days are already gone from being the top dog of a title-contending team.

The L.A. Clippers star openly admitted that due to injuries and having greater odds to win a championship, he opted to occupy a second-option spot at this stage of his career.

“After years of being there, going through injuries, and then seeing how the league was shaping up, it was like ‘Man, I can’t do this alone,'” George said upon his appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man & A Three podcast.

“I had to be honest to myself. In order for me to win at the highest level and get to where I want to get to, I don’t think I’m the one guy. I can, I can score with the best, I can take over games with the best. But I don’t honestly think that’s what my game is if I want to win a championship. I don’t think that’s where my place is if I want to win a championship. I felt like I learned that.”

George was once the face of the Indiana Pacers team that went to back-to-back trips in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014, as well as the go-to guy for the OKC Thunder in 2018-19 wherein he finished third in league MVP voting.

Known for being one of the best two-way players in the league with his skill set and athleticism, George went on to transition himself and become the Robin of Kawhi Leonard as they joined forces in the Clippercamp last 2019-20 campaign.

It takes such sheer guts for a star player to admit that he is not capable of being at the front anymore. As such, George can only hope that his role as the second star will deliver him a championship once and for all.