Brandon Miller: Paul George Is Right Guy for This Generation of NBA Players to Study

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVMarch 26, 2024

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s no secret that Charlotte Hornets star rookie Brandon Miller has modeled his game after Paul George, even calling him his own personal GOAT before last summer’s NBA draft.

But there’s a specific reason why George is the archetype for Miller.

“It’s kind of how the league is built now,” he told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Paul George is the right person to study for this generation.”

Former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony agreed.

“You talking about the mold of [George’s size], can handle, can shoot, a sniper, a killer,” he said on his podcast in December. “Why do you think a lot of kids today are talking about PG? It’s no disrespect to nobody, it’s just that’s the mold of when you create your player on 2K.”

And Karl-Anthony Towns praised George’s versatility and the effortless nature of his game.

“He’s so smooth,” he told Youngmisuk. “His game is so fluid. He can do everything on the court. He has a great post-up game, fadeaway, either shoulder, step-back, going either way. Psssshhh, he can do everything.”

In many ways, George is the ideal player in the modern game. He’s a prototypical 3-and-D wing who can play off the ball or create his own shot at a very high level. Every team would love to have a player who can check the various boxes George does.

He perhaps doesn’t have an elite calling card like many of the game’s other top superstars (the nightly triple-double threat from Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić, for instance, or the sheer downhill terror that is Giannis Antetokounmpo, to name a few), but he also doesn’t have any demonstrable weaknesses. That makes George a logical player to emulate for Miller.