Paul George has spent less than half a season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he clearly hasn't learned to recognize the hometown heroes of his new (potentially temporary) state.
After OKC's 127-117 January 4 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma Sooners quarterback and Heisman Winner Baker Mayfield tried to dap up the NBA All-Star, who quite clearly didn't know who he was.
According to Brett Dawson, Thunder beat writer for The Oklahoman, George said he was used to seeing Mayfield in a helmet and didn't recognize the quarterback. He later tweeted an apology to Mayfield, who took the mistake in stride.
But it has been a tough week for Mayfield, whose Sooners fell 54-48 to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, and the whole affair was made even more awkward because George went out of his way to praise Mayfield while speaking to The Norman Transcript in December.
"He just has that ‘it’ about him as far as being a leader,” George said. “He holds everybody accountable and he’s always ready. It’s the perfect guy if you’re a team and you want somebody in that spot. He’s the perfect guy for that."
Predictably, Twitter had some fun with the cringe-worthy meeting.
It's often said that helmets are why football produces less recognizable stars than basketball, and George certainly offered some evidence supporting that notion.