Paul George was born on May 02, 1990 in Palmdale, California to Paul and Paulette George. He grew up with two older sisters: Teiosha, who played basketball at Pepperdine, and Portala, who played volleyball at CSU-San Bernardino. Although he idolized Lakers star Kobe Bryant, he grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Clippers. He spent most of his free time playing basketball at the park or one-on-one against his older sister Teiosha. He did not play organized basketball until his freshman year at Pete Knight High School. In his last three years of high school, he played for the varsity basketball team under head coach Tom Hegre. He played for Pump and Run of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) with future UCLA Bruins Jrue Holiday and Malcolm Lee. As a sophomore, he began the season on the JV team, but was moved up to the varsity after the season started. During his junior year, he was the only underclassmen on the varsity team starting lineup.
Recruiters began noticing George during the summer of 2007, while he competed in AAU tournaments. Sensing his potential, his coach handed him a leading role his senior season. That year, George led Knight to the Golden League championship, and was named the Golden League Most Valuable Player, the Antelope Valley Press Player of the Year, and a member of the Daily News 2007-08 All-Area Boys' basketball team.
Despite his accomplishments, George was not considered a major prospect by most colleges. Rivals.com labeled him as a three-star recruit and ranked him 20th among a class of California prospects that was highlighted by Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan (both future NBA stars). He verbally committed to Santa Clara, the first school that offered him a scholarship, but he later de-committed from them because his high school coach thought he should keep his options open. After a positive experience attending Teiosha's Midnight Madness event at Pepperdine University, he committed to Pepperdine on August 09, 2007. Midway through his senior season, he de-committed from Pepperdine after coach Vance Walberg resigned from the program. He ultimately chose Fresno State over offers from schools like Georgetown and Penn State because of greater opportunities for playing time.
George played two years at Fresno State University. In his first game with the Fresno State Bulldogs, he scored 14 points in a winning effort against Sacramento State. In the following game, he recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort against Saint Mary's. Despite the loss, he made an impression with his one-handed slam dunk over Mickey McConnell that earned him Sports Center's number 1 "Play of the Day" for November 18, 2008. On February 09, 2009, he scored a then career-high 29 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 88-82 victory over Boise State. In the 2009 WAC Tournament, the Bulldogs were matched up against Hawaii and advanced to the quarterfinal against the top-seeded Utah State Aggies. During the game, he forced a career-high 5 steals and finished with a team-high 16 points; however, despite his effort the Bulldogs lost, 85-68. With a 13-21 record, the team failed to qualify for the 2009 NCAA Tournament. He led the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in minutes played (1176) and finished second in 3-point shooting (44.7%), steals (59) and steals per game (1.74). His 3-point field goal percentage was the third-best in the Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball program. He started all 34 games and finished the season averaging 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 47.0 percent from the field.
Entering his sophomore season, George was named the most entertaining player in the West region and the eighth most entertaining player in college basketball by Sports Illustrated in their list of the "Top 16 Most Entertaining Players in College Basketball". On January 21, 2010, he sprained his right ankle against Utah State and missed the next four games. He made his return on February 11, scoring a career-high 30 points in a winning effort over eventual WAC Tournament champion New Mexico State. During the 2010 WAC Tournament, he recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds, but his team lost to Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals. The team finished the season 15–18, with George averaging 16.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 steals while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the line. He was named All-WAC Second-Team and ranked second in the WAC in free throw percentage (90.9%), steals (64) and steals per game (2.2).