Paul George’s first season with the Sixers is in the books. And it’s not something he would want to look back at very fondly. When he moved to Philly last summer, the expectations were to win a championship with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. But due to their unfortunate injury woes, the Sixers finished the season as the thirteenth seed, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Despite the terrible debut campaign, PG has surprisingly not lost hope.
After ending the year with a loss against the Bulls, George revealed his expectations for next season, “You have to be optimistic in every situation, given the talent we have. Hopefully moving forward, we can get healthy.” Well, talent was never really a concern for the Sixers. They had a former MVP in Embiid, a rising star in Maxey, and a multi-time All-Star in PG. But what hurt them were the injuries.
Paul was ruled out for the season last month after receiving injections in his left knee and left adductor muscle. He last suited up on March 4 and was limited to playing only 41 games this season. So, he could never truly find his rhythm in the new environment. However, he is hoping to return completely healthy next season and starting fresh. His optimism is also because unlike last year, when he spent the entire summer in uncertainty amid free agency, he can spend focusing on improving his game and health.
Of course, PG is disappointed with his team’s performance, “We didn’t see ourselves being 13th in the East.” And he blamed the injury woes for keeping them “in scramble” all year. But he believes this summer will be big for him and his team. Talking of his chemistry with Embiid, George said, “It comes down to trust, trusting our process.” Well, the sample size to assess the Big Three’s chemistry was not much, as they played only fifteen games together. That’s because Embiid and Maxey also got shut down due to injury. But PG claims his chemistry with Joel, both on and off the court, improved significantly. Hopefully, it will get even better over the summer.
Paul George gives positive injury update as he credits Nick Nurse for leading the shorthanded Sixers
Of course, PG’s priority this summer would be to recover from the multiple injuries he suffered over the season. As per his latest comments, he is trending in the right direction. The veteran forward revealed that he is feeling a lot healthier. His finger injury has subsided and the knee is also making decent progress. However, the groin is still taking some time to heal. With several months to recover and rehab, PG is expected to be back to full strength ahead of next season.
Mar 1, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) catches a ball against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Hopefully, his showing will be better than this year, where he averaged only 16.2 points and over five rebounds. While the Sixers’ season kept getting worse, there was one person who was constantly trying to keep the team’s morale high – Nick Nurse. Sure enough, PG gave the head coach his flowers as their season came to an end, “I give Coach Nurse a bunch of credit for picking up the pieces all year.”
Now that the season is in the rearview mirror, Nick Nurse and Co.’s focus will be on building their strength and chemistry over the summer and hopefully meeting the expectations they failed to this year. Thoughts?
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