When Paul George takes the court Wednesday night, he’ll be wearing special Nike shoes.
Better yet, if he takes the court. With their playoff seed in the bag, it’s unclear whether or not coach Frank Vogel will play Paul George in their regular season finale in Milwaukee. If he does, George will have played in all 82 games this season.
The occasion: April 13 has been declared Mamba Day by Nike in celebration of Kobe Bryant’s final NBA game (10:30 pm ET, ESPN2).
Dozens of athletes around the world have worn or plan to wear special shoes recognizing Kobe and his influence. That includes the Palmdale, California native Paul George, who grew up rooting for the underdog Clippers but also idolizing Kobe.
“I will (wear special shoes),” George told VigilantSports.com Tuesday morning, “to honor Kobe’s last game and wear them for him.”
They are expected to be black and gold Kobe XI low tops, but even George hasn’t seen them yet.
“I don’t even have them,” he joked. “They’re already in Milwaukee.”
Because Nike had not announced what shoe Paul will wear or what it’ll look like, a representative contacted Tuesday respectfully declined to share an image.
Paul George isn't playing tonight but did show off Kobe shoes (GHill photobomb) others will wear including @solohill pic.twitter.com/3NX0dLu8Ug
— Jeremiah Johnson (@PacersJJ) April 13, 2016
See Also: Several other Pacers thank Kobe on social media
After PG squared off against Kobe for the final time back on Feb. 8, the five-time NBA Champion gave him a signed pair of shoes.
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