George attended Knight High School in Palmdale, California. He was not immediately seen as a high school star, but his growth gained attention as he improved his play in AAU and high school basketball. In his senior season, he led Knight to a championship while averaging 23.2 points per game.

George was only rated as a three-star recruit, and chose to play college basketball at Fresno State.

At Fresno State, George started strong with 14 points in his first game and a 25 point, 10 rebound double-double in his second. He started all 34 games that year and finished second in the Western Athletic Conference in steals and three point percentage.

His sophomore season, George made the All-WAC Second Team. He again finished second in the conference in steals, and posted a college career high of 30 points when they faced the eventual conference champions, the New Mexico State Aggies.

After his sophomore season, George declared for the 2010 NBA Draft.

Paul George was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He delivered several strong performances as a rookie, including a 23-point game with 5 three point baskets, and had the best steals-per-minute rate on the Pacers. His play earned him a spot on the All-Rookie second team. 

The next season, he started all 66 games in the lockout-shortened season and was selected to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest and Rising Stars Challenge during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend. The team lost in the second round of the NBA Playoffs to the Miami Heat.

The 2012-13 campaign was a breakout season for George. He recorded his first career triple-double, averaged 17.6 points per game, and was named the Most Improved Player and was voted to the NBA All-Star team and All-Defensive second team. He had several strong playoff performances, and some thought the team led by George and Roy Hibbert could take down the Miami Heat, but Indiana lost again in the Eastern Conference Finals.

George signed a max contract extension before the start of the 2013-14 season. The Pacers had another excellent regular season, starting with a 9-0 record, but they lost again to the Miami Heat in the playoffs. George was named to the All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Third Team. In the summer of 2014, George suffered a horrific leg injury during a Team USA scrimmage. It was thought he would miss all of the 2014-2015 season, but he was able to play games for the Pacers in April 2015. The following season, George recaptured his pre-injury form, making the All-Star team and All-NBA Third Team. 

During the 2016-17 season, it was public knowledge that George wished to leave the Indiana Pacers. Since he had only one more year under contract and he was known to prefer a move to the Los Angeles Lakers, it was a gamble for Oklahoma City to trade for him. However, George’s first season with the Thunder was a success, with several 30+ point performances in the regular season and the playoffs. He chose to resign with the Thunder in the summer of 2018. The next season he played even better on both ends of the floor despite injuries in the second half of the year, and he finished third in MVP voting.

In 2019, when Kawhi Leonard was pushing the Clippers to acquire a second star before he signed for them, the Thunder received a huge trade package from the Clippers for George. George played 42 games for the Clippers, averaging 21 points per game, before the season was suspended.