The LA Clippers had major expectations this season when they paired James Harden with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Much like the last four seasons in a row, their expectations fell short when Kawhi Leonard became injured. Losing in the first round on top of that, was just adding insult to injury.
In what have been the most bizarre moment of the Clippers disappointing playoff run was Paul George’s immediate reaction to getting eliminated in Game 6 to the Dallas Mavericks. New footage was revealed of George dapping up Luka Doncic and giving him a very strange message.
Paul George told Luka Doncic “No Hookah for a minute” after the first round 😂😂😂
(h/t @AhnFireDigital) pic.twitter.com/988HMZ7jAw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 13, 2024
“No Hookah for a minute”, George joked to Doncic after a Game 6 elimination.
While George’s reference to Doncic is very clearly a joke, it’s still a very strange thing to do given the situation. In Game 6, Paul George put up 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists on 33/20/100 shooting from the field. During the 2024 NBA Playoffs as a whole, he averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 41/37/84 shooting from the field. The 2024 playoffs were the worst playoff run that George played since the 2013 NBA season.
With that sheer level of disappointment in mind, it’s very bizarre for George to be in a jovial mode given the situation, especially with his performance.