Paul George ‘Didn’t Appreciate’ Stephen A. Smith’s Shot At Kawhi Leonard While He Was On ‘NBA Countdown’

Prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals, word dropped that Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis suffered a rare leg injury that would keep him sidelined. It was a brutal turn of events for Porzingis, who missed most of the playoffs leading up to the Finals, but he was eventually able to get on the floor during the team’s series-clinching Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

The injury came up on NBA Countdown, and at one point, Stephen A. Smith leaned into the fact that Paul George was the guest player on set to take a shot at Kawhi Leonard, who Smith frequently criticizes for his inability to remain healthy and play.

George laughed while he pushed back against Smith’s comment. As it turns out, he had a lot more to say about this, which he went into on the latest edition of “Podcast P.”

“I didn’t like that moment, just because — and I rock with Stephen A., obviously,” George said. “But just, let it go, you know what I mean? Just let it go. Kawhi wants to play, I will keep beating that over the head until I’m out of breath — he wants to play. He keeps making it something that Kawhi doesn’t wanna play, or he doesn’t wanna be there. I think we rode Kawhi a lot this year to where it kinda got to the point of, like, there’s only so much my body can take right now. We, shit, exhausted a lot out of Kawhi this season.

“And so, I just think at some point, your body breaks you down,” George continued. “And that’s just the case there. But, I didn’t appreciate that moment. I know I laughed, just cause the situation, it was lighthearted. But deep down, it was just like, man, you gotta let that go, Stephen A.”

Leonard appeared in 68 games this regular season, his most since 2016-17 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. However, injuries limited him to only two games in the Clippers’ 6-game first round series against the Dallas Mavericks.