For any athlete, going through a seemingly career-threatening injury would need some mental preparedness upon return. Some make a successful comeback, while others take time or don't recover at all.
In the case of George, it seems that he is over that mental aspect and has set a goal this year, over a year after that horrific broken leg injury he sustained while participating in a Team USA scrimmage.
The broken leg cost George almost an entire season, but it seems that he is over that. In fact, he was able to make a miraculous return before the 2014–15 National Basketball Association (NBA) season ended, although he was far from the George everyone knew.
Of course, his appearance was more of a break-in of sorts rather than seeing him help the Pacers. And now, it seems he is raring than ever to make up for lost time with the Pacers and has even set his sights on a personal award — the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) title.
"I do understand that I'm coming back as a fresh new player, with a new team, but I'm not limiting myself. I still have the aspiration of being the MVP, still have the aspiration of being one of the best defenders, one of the best scorers in the league. All of that is still there. But now I just feel like I'm much … wiser. I'm a better ballhandler, a better playmaker," said George via USA Today.
From the way he put it, it looks like the injury became a wakeup call and thorough learning experience. But as everyone knows, an MVP award normally comes second to an NBA title. So is George losing focus?
Apparently, his approach could be that through his play, the team will benefit. And hopefully, it does, especially since he may be playing a position (power forward) that seems unnatural for him since he entered the league.
Could such have a bearing on his personal aspirations or has he embraced that fact and sees himself flourishing in the new role?
If he was listening, Pacers president Larry Bird did say that he made the adjustment before so he sees no issue of George doing the same even if the latter claims that the game has changed nowadays.
