Paul George motivated by teams who overlooked him in 2010 draft

It can be easy to forget that Paul George was selected 10th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft.

When you consider that George has already landed a max deal contract and appeared in last season's All-Star Game, one has to wonder how he was overlooked for players like Ekpe Udoh and Al-Farouq Aminu.

But George hasn't forgotten about that night, and he uses the outcome of the draft as motivation when taking on teams who passed him up.

On Friday night, it was the Wizards who fell victim to his motivation, with George scoring a game-high 23 points in a 93-79 win for the Pacers. Washington selected John Wall with the first overall pick in the 2010 draft (not a poor choice by any means), and George admits that he didn't forget about that during the game.

"It is," said George when asked by Indy Star if playing against Wall means something extra. "John Wall is a great friend of mine and someone I really respect in this league but it always is. I always want to outdo the person who was drafted higher than me. Whether it's a best friend or close friend, whoever it is. I take it as a challenge."

Next up on George's hit-list are the Clippers, who took Aminu with their eighth pick in the draft.

"I'm happy where I'm at being here but (the Clippers) were one of the teams that did overlook me," George said. "So I always have that in the back of my mind when I play them."