OKC Thunder: Paul George’s MVP-caliber December
Paul George has exploded for the OKC Thunder in the month of December and he is making a strong case to be an MVP candidate.
The Oklahoma City Thunder knew they needed to lock up Paul George in free agency for the long-term to keep the team relevant for the foreseeable future.
George announced at a party hosted by Russell Westbrook that he would be coming back to the OKC Thunder. The bright lights of Los Angeles were not in George’s plans anymore as OKC was able to steal his heart for the one season they had him.
This season did not start so well, as the Thunder dropped their first four games. Quickly after that, things flip-flopped, and in December they’ve gotten even better. OKC is currently tied with the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Western Conference.
The Thunder went from being a team that could not get a win to be one of the best teams in the league in three months and most of that can be attributed to Paul George.
Before the start of last season, George made headlines saying that he was trying to get the MVP award. OKC was not able to have the season it would have liked, even though the team finished fourth in the standings last year.
This year, George is looking like a prime MVP candidate and the month of December is helping him big time in the quest to get that coveted MVP trophy.
So far this month, he is averaging 31.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He’s shooting 52.5 percent from the field, 45.3 percent from the 3-point line and 84.0 percent from the foul line. While the raw numbers are there, he has been efficient too.
He is ninth in the league in terms of Player Efficiency Rating at 27.0.
He has three games where he has gone over 40 points. This is after having zero before the month of December. In his last two games, he’s gone over 40 points, scoring 43 in contests against the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz. Both were wins.
The big 47-point game where he scored 25 points in the fourth quarter helped start off the booming month of December where OKC has seemed to have everything going its way.
Along with the three 40-point games, he has three 30-point games and there are still five games left this month.
George is a top-10 scorer in the league right now. He is averaging 26.1 points per game, which is good for ninth on the scoring list. He is third in steals per game with 2.2 per game. His teammate Russell Westbrook is averaging 2.7 steals per game and is leading the league.
If Paul George wants to win the MVP award, he is off to a good start. He’s playing extremely well for a team that is thriving. George is 22nd in the league in terms of Player Impact Estimate at 17.1, which means he is one of the most impactful players in the league for his team.
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Paul George is on his way to being considered for the MVP award this season. He is an efficient and impactful player for the OKC Thunder. Because of him, they are one of the best teams in the league. Those are all ingredients for a player to win MVP, especially in a wide open year.