33YO Clippers All-Star Paul George Puts Timeline on When He?d Take Up Professional Golf

NBA superstars and golf are a never-ending love story. Over the years, legendary players like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Stephen Curry and others have shown their sentiment and skills for golf. Even though none of them have turned into a professional golfer so far, it could happen sooner than expected as Paul George opened up about the possibility.

Like a lot of NBA stars, George has been a golf aficionado in recent years. His tribe has participated in celebrity golf tournaments over the years. Notably, Curry recently won the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament. However, the closest an NBA pro turned golf pro at the moment is J.R. Smith interestingly.

Paul George on the possibility of turning a pro golfer

Paul George was joined by his co-hosts Dallas Rutherford and Jackie Long in a recent episode of the Podcast P show. During the sit-down, the trio discussed a variety of topics including their summers, recent NBA news, etc. In one instance, the crew discussed George taking a challenge in another sport.

The Los Angeles Clippers star noted that he would like to experience what it’s like to face soccer superstar Lionel Messi as a goalkeeper. His co-hosts immediately let him know that he won’t stand a chance against Messi.

PG13 admitted that he won’t be able to hit any fastball playing baseball. So he believed his best chance was being a goalie if he had to pick another sport. Jackie then talked about the amount of time George spends on the golf course and enquired when the fans can see him in the Masters.

George replied, “Not now but give me like two or three years.” He continued, “At the rate I’ve been playing, I should’ve been a lot better.”

The TV star then asked what are the things George thinks he needs to improve. The 8x NBA All-Star hilariously answered that he needs to work on everything from his drive to his short game to his putt. Jackie wondered whether there was anything the forward was good at. George jokingly stated that he is good at putting it home.

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There was however another NBA star who made a mark on the course and perhaps paved path for others.

J.R. Smith’s switch to golf

J.R. Smith was a very talented basketball player who played in the NBA for 16 years. Over the course of his career, Smith won two titles and also won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2013.

After exiting the league in 2020, he enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University and joined the golf team. Even though J.R.’s love for golf was well known, this came as a huge surprise to many.

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Revealing the reason behind this decision, Smith said that he wanted to resume his education and play golf to challenge himself. He made his golf debut in 2021. And now, George is mulling the same move and thus keeping the basketball-golf love story intact.