Paul George didn’t need to dance around the subject after the 76ers beat the Celtics. He went straight at the biggest reason his run in Philadelphia never clicked: his body.
That was the backdrop to his first game against the 76ers as an opponent after his offseason trade to Boston, a night that also got overshadowed by the clash between former teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. George’s split with the Clippers in 2024 was already public, and Philadelphia had later agreed to his contract demands. But after facing the team that once signed him, George laid out why the fit never fully came together.
“I’m healthy. That was the biggest challenge, the biggest hurdle my first two years I was here in Philly.
And then what I’ve learned is I’m a little bit better with more usage,” George said. “And that’s no knock to how my opportunities here with Philly.
Quite frankly I wasn’t healthy to take on the workload that I feel I’m at my best at. Here in Boston, they gave me an opportunity to come out here and play and be myself.
Joe [Mazzulla] has integrated me right into the offense and allowed me to just be myself.”
George backed up the point with his performance. In the 76ers’ win over the Celtics, he posted a game-high 36 points, along with five rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes. He shot 14-of-22 from the floor, 6-of-11 from deep and hit both of his free throws.
He entered Tuesday night having played nine games for Boston, logging a little over 30 minutes per game. Across that stretch, he had averaged 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 42.5 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the line.
George is in year three of the four-year max deal the 76ers gave him, and that contract includes a player option for next season.
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Philadelphia supporters have seen this movie before. Rivers time with the 76ers was marked by public criticism of Ben Simmons and reported clashes with James Harden, the sort of friction that left plenty of lingering questions even after the season moved on. So when Rivers inserts himself into another star storyline, it is hard not to view it through the same lens, with the focus shifting from the player in question to the trail of tension Rivers tends to leave behind. [Read more 🡒]
Paul Georges Return Reopens A Sixers Breakup Fans Havent Forgotten
Paul Georges first trip back to Philadelphia came with the kind of extra attention that usually follows a player who left a mark, even if the ending was messy. Now wearing a Celtics uniform, George talked about his time with the Sixers, the way he has settled into Boston, and what he expected from a fan base that has not exactly forgotten how things went when he was here.
Through nine games with Boston, George has been productive enough to remind everyone why his move mattered in the first place, giving the Celtics scoring, playmaking and activity on both ends. For Sixers fans, the return was always going to stir up more than a routine regular-season matchup, because it reopened a breakup that still lingers in the background every time he steps onto the floor in Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]