“He was just such an annoying player”: Paul George credits beef with Joe Ingles to keep him ‘locked in’ during 2021 NBA playoffs

In a recent episode of Paul George's Podcast P online show, special guest Terance Mann, who also plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, revealed that Joe Ingles was the player match-up that George found most challenging to deal with.

Mann answered, "When I first got here, it was Joe Ingles... That's who he was for the longest [time]."

Paul George admitted that he feels irritated if he ends up guarding Ingles or the other way around, saying,

"I would say he gave me problems from like an annoying standpoint like he was just such an annoying player. And for me, he doesn't know that, but he helped me -- people think like oh I'm getting under his skin like I'm gonna make him off his game -- but that actually locks me in."

George then said that Ingles inspires him to forget his offensive struggles and just make one shot against him.

"I could be shooting badly or going through a rough patch. That locks me into like right now, everything's about to be calculated like I'm gonna make sure I get a bucket on you," George said.

When Paul George and Joe Ingles faced off in the playoffs

Both George and Mann then recalled their 2021 Western Conference semifinal series against Ingles and the Utah Jazz.

"I may have shown him that Utah series like you were locked in. Every game, he was locked in," Mann said.

George added,

"I was locked in because then he taught... I don't know if he taught Royce O'Neal some of his b*******... but then Royce and the whole team were doing it. I'm like 'Come on bro!' It was just corny s*** going on in that series that I was like, 'Alright, I'm locked in. Let's go!'"

Behind a very inspired Paul George, the Clippers knocked out the then-top-seeded Jazz in six games to clinch their trip to the Western Conference Finals.