The NBA thrives off players who are elite and those who are not far away.
Every season, the media and fans worldwide debate the virtues of those that are legitimate superstars (LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant) and those who seem so close to making the next step (Paul George, John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry).
That next step is sometimes known as ‘the leap’, young studs are seen as looking to have ‘the look’ or we say ‘they got game’, and we all wait to see who will next progress to superstardom.
But for now let’s just talk about having ‘it’. To use such a generic term, one must define it.
‘It’ is embracing the big moment, demanding the ball, knowing you bear the brunt of a game-winner missed but confident you will make the shot and win the game.
‘It’ is knowing the opposition coaching staff spends the last timeout drawing up a play to stop you, and every last person in the building knows it will happen, but still taking that shot.
‘It’ is leadership, swagger, confidence, even arrogance. Players with ‘it’ polarise opinions and divide fans worldwide as they are often abrasive, sometimes disliked, but universally respected.
Above all, ‘it’ is success and is confined to those great players who are at the very highest of high levels.
Michael Jordan undoubtedly had ‘it’, and his moments of glory were aplenty.
Craig Ehlo still loses sleep over ‘The Shot’, which inspired a generation to want to Be Like Mike.
Byron Russell, try as he might, was overmatched in 1997 and 1998 as Mike finished his Chicago Bulls career in style with a game winning shot in Salt Lake City in Game six of the 1998 Finals.
Kobe Bryant had (and still has) ‘it’, and has often displayed it in strange ways.
An ostracising figure, individual success came early as he was compared to Jordan and other legends as a teenager.
Some would say leadership never came easily to Bryant, but basketball did and he has performed at an elite level for the last 15 years.
Five titles, two Finals MVPs and a league MVP later, his legacy proves Kobe is the modern-day epitome of ‘it’.
LeBron James took a while to find ‘it’, and for so long seemed destined to be arguably the greatest waste of sporting and athletic talent the sporting world has seen.
The low point was a mediocre 2011 NBA Finals capitulation to the Dallas Mavericks, but James found ‘it’ the following season as he dominated the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Ray Allen’s three pointer in game six is part of NBA folklore, James hit a huge three not 20 seconds earlier and in game seven he displayed ‘it’ on the biggest sporting stage of all.
It would take a brave man to bet against James leading his team to a three-peat of championships and NBA Finals MVP awards this season.
Kevin Durant has ‘it’. Blessed with one of the more effortless jump shots the league has seen, Durant often cruises to 30 point games and picks his spots when attacking.
Rarely has the game seen a more efficient offensive player than Durant, and he continues to evolve from an elite scorer to an assassin; his personality might remain as a laid-back, relaxed man but his behaviours are evidence that he knows he has ‘it’, and wants everyone else to know.
Everyone has their opinions on Jordan, Bryant, James and Durant but the facts are clear and their legacies are set.
What may be somewhat less clear is which of the next generation has ‘it’.
However it isn’t unclear at all – Paul George has ‘it’.
George is 23, and the face of a franchise that no more than 18 months ago was cursing its luck as its star Danny Granger had gone down with a serious knee injury.
George may not be making Pacer fans forget Granger, but he will come back as a role player when he is fit because he is the man in this team and is dramatically improving before our eyes.
George has it all – at 6’9″ and 220 lb he has the size to play big but the game to play as a guard. He shoots well, posts up well, rebounds, passes and defends at the elite level.
George craves the big moment, and in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals series took on James and pushed the Heat all the way, giving them a mighty scare in a seven-game series.
As the Pacers sat in their locker room, vanquished and defeated, George commanded the floor and ordered his teammates to go away and ensure they all improved at least one part of their game over summer.
This was a 22-year-old taking control and demanding excellence from his team.
George put his neck out with his actions in the locker room on that May evening, but his performances so far this season are incredible.
His scoring average is 24.6 points per game, over seven points above his career average and he is shooting at a career-best .476 from the field.
Indiana are a league-best 16-2 and 6-0 in crunch time (where in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime neither team is ahead by more than five points) and while George’s individual numbers in crunch time are not as elite as one would expect, you would expect these will only improve and while the team is winning, George will have to be content with overall dominance as the best player on the best team.
George has swagger, he has ‘the look’ and plays the game with an intensity that owes much to his work ethic and want to be the best.
Let’s not for a minute pretend he hasn’t been blessed with amazing natural ability, but to get to the next level and become a legend of the game requires maniacal dedication and rabid competitiveness.
George displays these characteristics and more, and it would be foolish to think he will leave anything to chance as he chases history.
Having never gone past the second round, critics will say until he performs at a high level deep into the playoffs he has no claim to having ‘it’.
Indiana have put a team around George this season to give him every chance to take ‘the leap’ but the Pacers go as far as George takes them.
It might just be that George proves to the world that he has ‘it’ by leading the Pacers to their first NBA finals appearance and perhaps more.
As a basketball lover, watching Paul George is pure bliss. You never tire of watching the very best, and this kid is on the verge of joining this esteemed company.
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