This is the Paul George the LA Clippers signed up for

The LA Clippers need Paul George to play like a superstar. He did exactly that in an emphatic opening-day victory over the defending champs.

In an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast weeks before the season’s tip-off, Paul George indicated the level he expected to be at following an injury-riddled first season with the LA Clippers capped off by an embarrassing bubble elimination.

“I’m back with my trainer that I had my MVP season,” PG told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “I’m locked in, as locked in as you can be… I’m on motherf**ker’s asses this year.”

George never won an MVP. He was referring to the closest he ever got when he finished third in the voting in 2019.

Nevertheless, it was your classic preseason hype statement, of similar ilk to the way many talk about the offseason work that has them in the best shape of their life. You want to hear that type of confidence from an All-Star caliber player. It ultimately rang hollow by the absence of ways to prove the return of one of the game’s premier two-way talents.

On Tuesday night, George got his first chance to back those words with an emphatic statement minutes after watching the Clippers’ inter-stadium rival claim the jewelry they felt was theirs to lose all season long.

After coasting through the first half with just seven points — garnering more attention for an errant first-quarter pass to the referee — while Kawhi Leonard carried the lion’s share of the offensive load, George came alive in the third with 15 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting. Another 11 in the final frame kept the Los Angeles Lakers from completing a 22-point comeback as he finished with a game-high 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 on threes to spoil the Lakers’ ring night 116-109.

“I applied the work that I put in this offseason,” George said after the game. “It’s not going to be pretty every night, but tonight I got it going.”

George has received a significant amount of criticism for the way the 2019-20 season ended. A good portion of that is fair game. He shot below 40 percent during LA’s playoff run, scoring below 20 points in seven of 13 games capped off with a 10-point 4-of-16 performance in the elimination Game 7 against Denver.

Disputing claims that the Clippers did not view one of the two guaranteed seasons they have with himself and Kawhi on the roster as championship-or-bust infuriated the masses. Things only spiraled over the offseason with reports of teammates frustrated with the star treatment they didn’t think George deserved.

All these valid criticisms make it easy to forget the manner in which George began his Clippers career and how that spilled into the results of the season.

He missed the first 11 games of the regular season after undergoing double shoulder surgery over the summer. In the same vein as Leonard, the Clippers wanted George as fresh as possible for the playoffs, resulting in a handful of DNPs and reduced responsibilities in the games he did play in.

George’s statistical production took a hit but only because he was playing under 30 minutes a night for the first time since his sophomore season. Per-36 minutes, his numbers were in line with his final season in OKC, the season he refers to as his MVP year.

By efficiency standards, George was reaching new heights with his new team. He shot a career-best 41.2 percent from downtown on nearly eight attempts per game. His effective field goal and true-shooting percentages were also his best ever.

The Clippers as a whole began to find their rhythm in late February and early March by winning seven of eight. George’s numbers had dipped but the ball was moving in the right direction to ensure he and LA were peaking at the proper time.

Then the pandemic hit, forcing the NBA into hiatus until late July where it re-emerged in the bubble. The tale of the Clippers’ demise from that point on is well-published. An absence of chemistry typically formed during the regular season proved LA’s undoing in the playoffs. George bravely attributed some of his struggles to depression and anxiety that manifested as a result of the unique circumstances.

Signing a four-year, $190 million extension with LA was hardly the move to foster an image boost. Offering the assurance of his presence long-term seemed like the least George could do considering the haul it took to acquire him. It would be irrelevant in the grand scheme of the Clippers’ championship dreams if Leonard didn’t follow in his path.

Quality point guards might populate NBA rosters more than any other position. Much has been made about the remodeling of the center position. In the end, it’s still two-way wings who have the most sway in determining a champion.

Leonard. LeBron James. Kevin Durant. Andre Iguodala. That’s the entire list of Finals MVP over the last nine years, and they’re all wings who get it done at both ends — Iggy is the rare exception as the only non-high-usage scorer among them.

While that award would almost assuredly go to Kawhi in the event of a Clippers’ title, George has an important role to fill as potentially the league’s most dangerous No. 2 option outside of Anthony Davis.

He is an All-Defensive caliber ball hawker tasked with guarding names like LeBron, James Harden and Luka Doncic. When defenses tighten up in the playoffs and the ball is taken out of Leonard’s hands, George’s size and smoothness maneuvering to his spots help him get and convert looks at all three levels.

The Clippers agreed to the Thunder’s hefty asking price because they knew acquiring George was ultimately a package deal that sealed Leonard’s commitment. But there’s a reason why the reigning Finals MVP at the time sought for PG to be his running mate.

He is one of the few players in the NBA today who can finish top-three in the voting for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, which he did just two seasons ago — only 16 players in NBA history can claim that accomplishment.

That is the George who legitimizes the Clippers’ title hopes. He reintroduced himself in front of a national television audience Tuesday night to remind us why.