The Philadelphia 76ers secured one of the biggest acquisitions of the offseason, signing star forward Paul George to a four-year, $212.5 million deal in free agency.
It appears general manager Daryl Morey pulled out all the stops to secure George's signature, including to recruit popular rapper Lil Dicky to the Sixers' cause.
During a recent episode of his podcast, in which Lil Dicky was a guest, George admitted that the rapper's recruiting pitch played a significant role in his decision to spur the Los Angeles Clippers and make the move to Philadelphia.
"That video—it sold me. What hit me was the saving money. It impacted me, it had a little touch on me," George said.
Lil Dicky explained how it came to be, saying that Morey asked him to be part of the pitch video.
"I just thought, what would be pertinent information? I'm from Philadelphia, I know where your dollar goes in Philadelphia," the rapper said. "I have a house in L.A., if I spent the same amount of money on a house in Philadelphia, it would be like 100 times bigger. Your bang for your buck goes so much further in Philadelphia."
Clearly, his message got through to George, who will be making an average annual salary of $52.9 million over the next four seasons.
The rapper was far from the only one angling for George to make the move to the 76ers, though. Joel Embiid jokingly hinted at a potential partnership with the 34-year-old on live television during the NBA playoffs while making a guest appearance on ESPN's NBA halftime show.
George is entering his 15th season in the NBA after averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 74 games in 2023-24.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul George Says Rapper Lil Dicky Helped Convince Him to Sign With 76ers.