Paul George‘s debut season with the Philadelphia 76ers did not go as planned. The veteran forward struggled to produce at his usual high level, thus limiting the Sixers. He also battled injuries throughout the season and was ultimately shut down.
During a recent interview with Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, George opened up on his debut season with the Sixers.
“To be honest, it was one of the toughest seasons for me. Just with a lot of adversity on the court, off the court,” George said. “The injury stuff … was some stuff I didn’t necessarily know I had going on until deep diving and finding out. There was other stuff I didn’t know that was causing my limitations, which was frustrating — not being able to do things I normally could do, and finding out the reason why. Those things are being addressed, so that’s the positive.”
George signed a four-year $211.5 million deal with the Sixers. He has three years remaining on his current contract. The final year is a player option. Therefore, he is likely going to remain with the Sixers for the 2025-26 season. That is unless Daryl Morey decides to make some significant roster changes.
Nick Nurse will undoubtedly be hopeful that George comes back stronger next season. When he’s at his best, he is one of the most dominant two-way forwards in the NBA. The prospect of having a healthy George paired with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is exciting. The issue is that both George and Embiid have concerning injury histories.
George’s Debut Season With the Sixers Gets Slammed
In a March 31 article from ESPN’s Zach Kram, George’s debut season in Philadelphia was slammed as being a ‘debacle.’
“George, whose debut season with the Philadelphia 76ers was nothing short of a debacle before ending prematurely due to multiple injuries,” ESPN’s Zach Kram wrote. “His scoring dropped from 22.6 points per game last season to 16.2 while struggling to pick up the slack with Joel Embiid sidelined. The Sixers probably expected a season like this from George at some point over the duration of his contract — but at the end of it, not the beginning.”
George, 34, will undoubtedly have a point to prove next season. They could quickly bounce back into championship contention if everyone remains healthy. Unfortunately, that’s a hard sell for the fanbase after such a tough season.
Sixers Expected to Run Things Back Next Season
The Sixers are expected to run things back next season, despite everything that went wrong this season.
“I think we will (see a healthy trio) early in the season next year,” Danny Green said via a March 18 episode of Run It Back. “If they don’t get it right, there will be something. But I think they have a lot of time from now to the beginning of next season where Joel can get right, PG can get right.”
Still, if the Sixers face similar issues during the opening months of next season, it’s only fair to expect Morey to begin making sweeping changes. Those changes could mean hitting the reset button and rebuilding around Maxey.
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