Rockets: Paul George modeled his game after Tracy McGrady, Kobe

Paul George recently spoke about the guys that influenced him growing up, including Kobe Bryant and former Houston Rockets great Tracy McGrady.

The Houston Rockets were fortunate enough to enjoy some of the prime years of Tracy McGrady‘s career. As it turns out, six-time NBA All-Star Paul George also took notice of the Hall of Famer’s game as he was entering the NBA in 2010.

Current LA Clipper Paul George was a guest on Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles, where he talked about his basketball career so far. When asked who he watched closely and modeled his game after, Tracy McGrady was among the names he mentioned.

“Kobe was my number one, but I felt like I related to T-Mac the most because I was a tall, lanky kid,” said George. “I was playing the point all the way through my years growing up, and I was always like a foot taller than every kid growing up, so I felt like I related to T-Mac the most.”

Paul went on to say he also admired Penny Hardaway and Allen Iverson. Looking up to such big names, it’s easy to see why Paul George turned out to be a special player.

When going just by body type and skill set, it makes perfect sense that George most related to McGrady.

Like McGrady, George is also a 6-8 versatile wing that has the ability to play and guard all positions. What made Tracy such a deadly scorer was his ability to blow past defenders or simply rise over the top of them with his length.

When the NBA resumes in roughly five weeks, George and the LA Clippers will be one of the biggest threats to the Houston Rockets’ bid for a title. With him revealing on the podcast that his shoulder finally feels completely healed, that makes Doc Rivers’ group that much more lethal.

Although Austin Rivers believes the Rockets match up with the Clippers better than any other team in the league, I can’t say I agree. Facing either Los Angeles team will be a tall task, one the Houston Rockets will need perfect execution to complete.

If PG-13 is in fact 100 percent come late July, he’s likely to cause some problems for teams in the playoffs, including the Rockets.