CJ Gardner-Johnson comes after Paul George for selecting number 8 in bizarre deleted tweet

Paul George’s signing with the Philadelphia 76ers officially opened a new chapter in his career. Not only was it going to be a brand new situation for him, but he also needed to select a new number to wear. With both 13 and 24 being retired. George opted for number 8 in honor of Philly area legend Kobe Bryant.

However, Eagles DB CJ Gardner-Johnson wasn’t thrilled with Paul George’s choice of jersey number and let him know in a bizarre tweet he quickly deleted:

LMAO??? pic.twitter.com/Dj0xd1wptQ

— garrett🦅 (@jalenreagors) July 7, 2024

First of all… what? I get that he picked that number for the same reason George did, but I don’t think he’s got a leg to stand on with this one.

We all know that CJ is an interesting character; that’s part of the reason we loved him in Philly during his single season with the team. It’s also why fans quickly turned on him when he shit-talked the city after leaving for Detroit.

Even with all of that, this is just an odd assertion to make. His deleting the tweet makes me think he realized that, but it could also have just been someone from his team telling him to take it down because it makes him look like a weirdo.

Honoring the late Kobe Bryant is something athletes, especially NBA players, have been doing since even before his passing. So it’s highly unlikely PG saw CJ’s decision and went, “Yeah, I’m gonna copy this dude.

Here’s the clip from PG’s podcast revealing his number choice that CJ quote-tweeted.

First look at PG in the Philly No. 8 threads 👀

Full episode drops tomorrow at 9am EST / 6am PST. pic.twitter.com/JyAsXY9LEo

— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 7, 2024

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