Former Bulldog and current NBA player Paul George will have his No. 24 jersey retired at the Save Mart Center, according to a Fresno State Athletics news release.
Fresno State Director of Athletics Terry Tumey announced Wednesday that the ceremony will take place during halftime of the Nov. 10 game between the ‘Dogs and the Winthrop Eagles. It will also be “Paul George Day” at the Save Mart Center.
George played two seasons for the Bulldogs from 2008-2010 before being drafted as the No. 10 overall selection in the draft that year.
He has been a six-time NBA All-Star selection and was part of the team that won the 2016 gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
”We are proud to honor Paul George for his exemplary contributions to the game of basketball, both while competing as a student-athlete at Fresno State and during his illustrious ongoing career in the NBA,” Tumey said in the release. “One of our goals as a department is to connect our rich tradition with our promising future by honoring the legends of our past appropriately.”
George will be the second student-athlete honored with the retirement of their number, with the first one being former coach and player Jerry Tarkanian.
“I am humbled by the honor of having my jersey retired by Fresno State,” George said in the release. “I loved my time there and am so appreciative of the staff, fans and everyone in the Bulldog family. That has been part of my basketball journey.”
During his time at Fresno State, George averaged a percentage of 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 63 games played for the Bulldogs.
So far in his NBA career, George has been a five-time All-NBA First Team selection, four-time All-Defensive Team and last year, he was a finalist for the NBA MVP award.
This will be the Bulldogs’ second game of the season and the first official home of the 2019-2020 season.