George Hill discusses fatherhood: ‘I have more to play for now’

George Hill has been a father for ten days and is going through things that fathers go through. Things that only parents understand.

Lack of sleep. Worrying. Fear of missing out. A bigger perspective. An understanding that it’s all about the child.

Zayden Jaxon Hill was born early, on Saturday, Jan. 16 and came out weighing 5 lbs., 13 oz., and he was 19.5 inches long. Therefore, Zayden had to spend a few days in the hospital before being released. Hill’s first child, with longtime girlfriend Samantha Garcia, is now home.

“Best thing to ever happen to you,” Frank Vogel said, in short, on what he told his point guard. “Your life will change and your perspective on wins and losses and all of that stuff comes back to Earth and it’s just an incredible blessing.”

On Monday, George talked about now being a first-time father.

“It’s a remarkable feeling and a great opportunity for me to be a father and raise my kid the right way,” he said.

On how difficult it is to be away from Zayden:

“It’s very difficult. Once he came out, you instantly fall in love and want to spend all the time you can with him. That’s what sucks. But he’ll be there when I get home.”

On his growing family:

My mom and dad have been waiting on a grandkid for years. I’m glad I had the opportunity blessed to give them one. Happy that I got family support for that. It’s a remarkable feeling.

What friend, neighbor, and teammate Paul George told him about fatherhood:

Just going to take patience. He says there’s going to be a lot of those nights where you and the kid want to get into a fight but just know that’s their life right now. Their life is going to be up in the middle of the night and that’s something you have to deal with. Me and my son had a long talk last night while he didn’t want to go to sleep. It comes with the territory. I cherish all of those moments.

On how he expects being a father to change him:

I don’t know yet. I think it’s a lot different if you have a girl than a little boy. I think you can still be yourself a little bit because you can be rough and things stuff like that. It’s going to change dramatically of how I look out and different perspectives of life and how I run my life now. It’s not about me, it’s not about my lady, it’s about all of us as a family now.

I have more to play for now.