Paul George and Joe Ingles have had a number of battles over the years, the most memorable of the bunch coming during the NBA Playoffs.
In 2018, Ingles and the Jazz eliminated George and the Thunder in six games. Three years later, George and the Clippers got the best of the Jazz to earn a trip to the Western Conference Finals. In each series, things got a bit heated between the two wings, but George gives Ingles credit for his motivation.
During a recent episode of George's "Podcast P" podcast, he and Clippers teammate Terance Mann discussed Ingles' role as an agitator during the playoffs, with George acknowledging that the Aussie's methods ultimately motivated him to focus and get on his game.
MORE: The Sporting News' ranking of the top 30 players in the NBA
"I would say it gave me problems from an annoying standpoint, like, he was just such an annoying player," George said in response to Mann's assertion that Ingles is his toughest adversary.
"And for me, it helps me — he don't know that but it helped. People think like, 'Oh, I'm getting under his skin. Like, I'm gonna make him off his game.' That actually locks me in, you know what I mean?
"I could be shooting bad or going through a rough patch — that locks me into like, 'alright, now everything is about to be calculated — like I'm gonna make sure I get a bucket on you.'"
George experienced his fair share of struggles in OKC's 2018 loss to Utah, including a 6-for-21 outing in Game 2 of the series and an abysmal 2-for-16 showing in a decisive Game 6 where he finished with more turnovers (six) than points (five) in 45 minutes of action.
Throughout that series, the two went head-to-head, the most notable duel coming when Ingles drained five 3s to help lead the Jazz to a 17-point win and take a 3-1 series lead over the Thunder, though George did finish with 32 points in the game.
George would ultimately even the score, albeit three years later, as he helped lead the Clippers past the Jazz to earn their first-ever trip to the Western Conference Finals.
In that series, George averaged 29.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists over six games, two of which were played without Kawhi Leonard. George again credits his focus to the tactics of Ingles, which he says he tried to impart on other Jazz teammates.
"I was locked in because — I don't know if he taught Royce O'Neale some of this bulls— but then Royce, and the whole team was doing it," George said, emphasizing that was enough to keep his focus high.
In 2021, Ingles acknowledged the run-ins between him and George during an appearance on JJ Redick's "The Old Man and the Three" podcast, saying "of course he's a million times better than me, like I'm not doubting that at all.
"What do I have to do to try and take him off (of his game) — I'm going to stand this close to him the whole game and just annoy him," Ingles added while illustrating the lack of space he wanted to give George.
"You try and figure things out that are going to make it tough on someone," Ingles continued, adding that he maintains that approach regardless of his opponent.
With Ingles now in the Eastern Conference with the Magic, we won't see another playoff battle between him and George in the near future, but the wily veteran can make his presence felt with similar tactics for an up-and-coming Orlando team that will look to make a leap toward contender status in 2023-24.
