George Jesse Hill Jr. (born May 4, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While playing for Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), he was named Summit League Player of the Year and was an honorable mention All-American in his junior season.

A guard, Hill was selected 26th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2008 NBA draft. He spent three seasons with the team before being traded to the Pacers in June 2011. He spent five seasons in Indiana and was dealt to the Utah Jazz in July 2016. Hill has also played for the Sacramento Kings, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Philadelphia 76ers. He played in the NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers in 2018.

Early life Born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Hill looked up to players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird while dreaming of one day playing in the NBA; when asked about his goal of becoming a first-round pick in the 2008 NBA draft, Hill commented: "It's my childhood dream".Matt Baker. IUPUI's George Hill dreams of having his name calledindystar.com, June 26, 2008. - He played basketball at St. Richard's Episcopal School. An only child,Maurice M. McKiernan. IUPUI's George Hill: the man behind the stats jagbytes.com, February 20, 2008. – Archived at WebCite Hill attended Broad Ripple High SchoolIndianapolis Public Schools. 2004 BRHS Graduate Hill Picked in First Round of NBA Draft headlines.ips.k12.in.us – Archived at WebCite where he excelled as one of the top high school players in the state and was one of the "Magnificent Seven" from Indianapolis (with Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., Josh McRoberts, Rodney Carney, Eric Gordon, and Courtney Lee).Rabjohns, Jeff. "Magnificent Seven – Oden. Conley. McRoberts. Carney. Hill. Lee. And Gordon. Indy high school rivals, now NBA colleagues, take us back to beginning. They recall classic games back in high school – and even elementary school" , Indianapolis Star, The (IN). Final Edition, Sports, D01. (ind138231025) Carney remembers playing against Hill: "This little kid comes in hitting all kinds of 3s, and I was like, 'Who is this little dude?...I knew he was going to be something when I saw this little skinny kid handling the ball and shooting like that." Hill played against every member of the Magnificent Seven except Gordon, who was recovering from a broken wrist during their meetup. He faced off against Oden and Conley during his junior year in high school, and remembers playing pickup games against 10-year-old Gordon when he was 13.

In his senior year, Hill averaged a state-leading 36.2 points per game, the fifth-highest single-season average in Indiana High School Athletic Association history.2007–2008 Men's Basketball Roster iupuijags.com. – Archived at Webcite

College career Despite scholarship offers from several big conference schools, including Temple and Indiana, he chose to commit to IUPUI, wishing to stay with his ailing great-grandfather, Gilbert Edison.Hill a prototypical Spur: College coach recounts examples of toughness, talent, loyalty, desire mysanantonio.com June 27, 2008 – Archived at WebCite A few months after he agreed to attend IUPUI, his great-grandfather died, never getting the opportunity to see Hill play basketball at the college level. Following his great-grandfather's advice to always be a man of his word, Hill decided to pass on other offers and stay at IUPUI.

In his sophomore year, he led the IUPUI Jaguars to a tie for the best record in the conference.

Following an injury that forced him to become a redshirt in his third year at IUPUI, Hill returned the next season and led the Jaguars to a school-record 26 wins and the Summit League Tournament finals before losing to eventual champion Oral Roberts University and thus failing to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Not counting Hill's injury-shortened 2006–07 season, the Jaguars were 61–30 during his three seasons at IUPUI.

Despite having one year of eligibility left, Hill, wishing to "test the waters", declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA draft. He left IUPUI as the fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,619 points, and became the second IUPUI player to declare early"IUPUI's Hill declares for NBA draft", The Associated Press State & Local Wire. May 1, 2008. after Carlos Knox in 1997 (he later withdrew his name).

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs (2008–2011) Although he had regularly attracted NBA scouts to his college games, Hill was not projected in most mock drafts largely due to remaining unannounced.Jeff Rabjohns (May 1, 2008). "IUPUI's Hill to test his NBA value". Indianapolis Star, The (IN) FINAL EDITION ed., D02. Retrieved November 6, 2008 from NewsBank on-line database (Access World News) on the World Wide Web: <infoweb.newsbank.com>. (ID: ind131429991)

In the following months, Hill worked out with several NBA teams. After an impressive run at the Orlando pre-draft rookie camp, Hill attracted attention and became a projected second-round selection. On draft night, the San Antonio Spurs surprised many by selecting Hill with their 26th pick in the first round; many expected the Spurs to select Mario Chalmers of Kansas.Wallace, Michael. "Miami Heat's Chalmers feels at home in San Antonio", The Miami Herald. November 8, 2008. Hill became the second first-round draft choice in The Summit League's history and the first player ever drafted from IUPUI.Ed Holdaway. "Hill picked 26th overall by the San Antonio Spurs" iupuijags.com, June 25, 2006. Accessed July 12, 2008. – Archived at WebCite On September 23, 2008, the Spurs signed Hill to a standard rookie contract that guaranteed the first two years and included a team option on the next two years.Cliff Brunt, Spurs sign George Hill sports.yahoo.com, September 23, 2008.

2008–09 season On July 14, 2008, in his first summer league game as a Spur, Hill scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while holding fellow draft pick O. J. Mayo to 5-of-17 shooting en route to a victory for the Spurs.Mike Monroe. Spurs' Hill holds own against Mayo in summer league debut mysanantonio.com, July 15, 2008. – Throughout the summer league Hill struggled with his shooting, making only 2 of 25 shots (8.0%), and one of six three-pointers (16.7%). Hill played in all but one of the four summer league games for the Spurs; he finished averaging 8.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 31.7 minutes per game.George Hill (2008 Summer League Statistics) nba.com, Accessed July 21, 2008. – Archived at WebCiteMike Monroe. Spurs' Hill makes date to fix his wayward shot mysanantonio.com, July 17, 2008. Accessed July 21, 2008. – Archived at WebCite

At the Utah Revue, Hill led his team by averaging 12.9 points over four games; however he continued to struggle offensively with his shooting, only making 21.4% of his three-point field goals.Tim Buckley. Warriors' Morrow named MVP of the Revue espn.com, July 26, 2008. – Archived at WebCite In the first of the four games, Hill led all scorers with 21 points and helped the Spurs defeat the Utah Jazz, 82–57. He followed up with a quiet offensive performance, 6 points, in a win against the NBDL Ambassadors, before scoring 18 points in a loss versus the Gerald Green-led Mavericks. In the final game of the Revue, Hill once again struggled with his shooting (1–7) but managed to make key plays with the game on the line. Hill made two clutch free throws with 6.9 seconds left and then forced a turnover on the defensive end to beat the previously undefeated Atlanta Hawks."2008 RMR Schedule" nba.com/jazz/Renue, July 18 – 25."08 RMR Day 4: Atlanta vs. San Antonio" nba.com/jazz/Revue, July 22, 2008.

In 2008, Hill joined the San Antonio Spurs and made his NBA debut on November 4 against the Dallas Mavericks in the third game of the season. He had sat out the previous two games due to a sprained left thumb.Finger, Mike. This time, Hill prepared to answer call , Mysanantonio.com, November 5, 2008. In 15 minutes of play, Hill finished with 11 points, 1 steal, and 1 assist.NBA Mavericks at Spurs Boxscore , NBA.com, November 4, 2008. Hill initially served as the main reserve at point guard, but after Tony Parker suffered an injury early in the season he was promoted to starter." Spurs' Parker out one month for ankle sprain ", China View (xinhuanet.com) November 11, 2008."Parker injured early in game", Sports Illustrated November 7, 2008. After the return of Parker and Manu Ginóbili, Hill received fewer minutes.Monroe, Mike. "Late surge propels Spurs past Rockets" , San Antonio Express News. November 14, 2008. (Accessed November 15, 2008)San Antonio(AP)."Duncan scores 22 points, leads the Spurs to another home victory", NBA.com, November 14, 2008 He finished his rookie season averaging 5.7 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game. Hill made his playoff debut in game 2 of the Spurs first-round series against the Mavs, but only played 5 minutes.

2009–10 season

Hill spent most of his off-season working on his point-guard skills, supervised by player development coach Chad Forcier, and his jump shots with Spurs shooting coach Chip Engelland. Following the advice of former Spur Bruce Bowen, he focused on developing his corner three-point shot. By the time training camp arrived, Hill had converted 8,000 threes.

His hard work during the off-season paid large dividends as soon as the 2009–10 season commenced. Hill saw his minutes increase from 16.5 to 29 a game. He also started in 43 games, most of them while Tony Parker was battling injuries. Hill more than doubled his scoring average, improved his field goal percentage by 7.5 percentage points, and his 3-pt shooting by 7.9 percentage points. On April 1, Hill notched career highs of 30 points, 5 steals, and 7 assists in a home game win against the Houston Rockets.McDonald, Jeff "Hill leads Spurs past Rockets" MySA.com, April 1, 2010. Hill ended the regular season tied at second place with Kevin Durant and Marc Gasol for the Most Improved Player of the Year award. All three garnered a total of 101 points.Duncan, Chris "Rockets G Brooks NBA's most improved player" Yahoo! Sports, April 22, 2010

The Spurs' first-round playoff series with the Mavs was a breakout series for Hill. He was ineffective in Game 1, scoring 0 points in 17 minutes after coming back from an ankle injury. He shook off his tentativeness in the next few games, scoring 7 and 17 points in Games 2 and 3. Then Hill led the Spurs to a Game 4 victory on a night when the Spurs' Big Three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili shot a combined 9-of-34 from the field. Hill scored a career playoff high 29 points, shooting 11–16 from the field and 5–6 from 3-point range. Yahoo! Sports Hill averaged 22.3 points in the series, helping the Spurs to win the series in six games.

2010–11 season

On March 28, 2011, Hill matched his career high of 30 points in a 119–114 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Indiana Pacers (2011–2016) Hill was traded to his hometown team the Indiana Pacers during the 2011 NBA draft on June 23, 2011, a trade that sent rights to the 15th overall pick Kawhi Leonard, the 42nd pick, Dāvis Bertāns, and 2005 draftee Erazem Lorbek to the Spurs in exchange for Hill.Pacers acquire guard George Hill