Since signing his max contract during the early stages of free agency in 2024, Paul George has been in uniform for just 68 games with the Sixers.
Even if George plays the remaining 10 games of the 2025-26 campaign, he won’t hit the 82-game mark over the course of two seasons combined. The nine-time All-Star’s tenure has been disappointing to say the least.
It’s been a trying two seasons for George as his body hasn’t allowed him to take the court as much as he’d like. Even when he’s been available, the 35-year-old has struggled to regain his form. Those frustrations culminated in George seeking help in the form of a banned substance to deal with the mental struggles of the last year-plus.
Now set to return from his 25-game suspension Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls, George came across contrite when speaking to reporters at the team’s practice facility Tuesday (h/t Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire for all quotes).
“I think first and foremost, just give my apology to, obviously, the city of Philadelphia,” George said in an opening statement. “My family, my teammates, the organization, everybody that was affected through this suspension.”
George was brought to the Sixers as the missing piece — a third star whose skills perfectly complemented those of former MVP Joel Embiid and rising star Tyrese Maxey. Expectations were sky high for a team that won 47 games the season prior, despite the James Harden saga lingering over the start of the year and another Embiid meniscus injury threatening to derail everything.
We all know it hasn’t worked out that way.
Between injuries to Embiid, George and seemingly everyone else on the roster over the past two seasons, the Sixers have been unable to coalesce in any meaningful way. Instead, we’ve seen spurts from certain players (or groups of players) which seem to inevitably end with an injury — or in the most recent case with George, a suspension.
The team seemed to be hitting its stride previously. Just two games prior to the news dropping, George hit a career-high and tied a franchise record with nine made threes in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He had another solid outing in a victory over the Sacramento Kings before the league handed down the suspension.
George’s body failing him led to issues mentally, which had him searching for ways to get better. In this instance, that search led to a poor choice.
So, after missing the last 25 games, where is George mentally and physically?
“I’m in a better place,” he told reporters. “Again, being a pro athlete, and the most difficult thing is when your body isn’t where you know it needs to be, or where it once was. That leads and bleeds into the mental side of things, knowing that you’re limited, but for me, if I feel good, my body is feeling great. Mentally, I know I’m capable of doing what I can do, and what I’ve been able to do on the court for years. So the mental thing only comes from the physical side not being in a great place.”
The Sixers, somewhat impressively considering it wasn’t only George who missed time, went 13-12 during the veteran forward’s absence. Though they fell into Play-In territory at 39-33, they’re just 1.5 games back of the Toronto Raptors for the fifth seed. Meaning with 10 games left, there’s time to get back into a guaranteed playoff spot.
When news of George’s suspension broke, the rose-colored glasses view was the time could be used for him to get his body right. Well, to hear George tell it, that time off did help his balky knee.
“I think I’m in a much better place physically,” he told reporters. “So, I’m, from a personal standpoint, really excited about that. These 25 games was just what I needed, I think, for my body to kind of heal, and be in a better place, and I’ve been feeling great. I’ve been feeling awesome on the court, and so I’m looking forward to putting it to the test now.”
One positive is that George was able to continue working out and practicing with the team during his suspension. Though he wasn’t allowed to participate in games, his teammates and coaches made sure he was still a part of things. George himself was able to stay in shape and get plenty of on-court work in.
Though he acknowledged there could be some rust initially, he should be all systems go.
“Obviously, I’ve done a ton of cardio, but you can never simulate a game,” he said. “So, I think more so than anything, it’s just gonna be the cardio that should come back fairly quick. But then just timing. Obviously, we try to simulate as much as possible game-like situations, but nothing’s like a game until you’re in it.”
George will be fully in it Wednesday night against the tanking Bulls.
And not a moment too soon for the Sixers.
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Kurt Helin