Paul George has been one of the feelgood stories of Team USA going into the Rio Olympics this summer. We all remember the moment he suffered a compound leg fracture during an exhibition game prior to the 2014 World Cup of Basketball in Spain.
It cost him most of the NBA season that followed. But he also made a miraculous recovery and reminded the world last season that he’s still one of the best basketball players on the planet. Not only that, he’s back with Team USA to help them defend the gold here in Rio just two years later.
The story of his recovery is an inspiration to any athlete who’s suffered a devastating injury. So after French gymnast Samir Ait Said broke his leg in a similarly gruesome fashion during a vault attempt on Saturday, George decided he might be able to offer a fellow Olympic athlete some much-needed moral support after such an excruciatingly-difficult conclusion to his time in Rio. Via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports:
Two summers ago in a scrimmage before the FIBA World Cup, the Indiana Pacers star sustained a compound fracture of the right tibia and fibula. He missed almost all of the 2014-15 season but returned to All-NBA level in 2015-16. He is playing in his first Olympics in Rio and had 15 points in USA’s win vs. China on Saturday.
It was his idea to meet with Said, according to USA Basketball spokesperson Craig Miller. However, it is uncertain when or if that meeting can occur. Miller said Said was not yet accepting visitors as of Sunday afternoon.
Said had surgery to repair the leg on Sunday and appeared to be in good spirits. He said in a Facebook post that he’s already looking ahead to the Tokyo Olympics in four years, which is something George can certainly offer encouragement about given his return to international competition just two years after his own injury.
