Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George scored 35 points on 11-for-21 shooting in Sunday’s 120-117 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, continuing his strong play after a difficult 2024-25 season. The nine-time All-Star credited improved health for his resurgence and addressed criticism about being washed up.
George shot 7-for-9 from 3-point range and added four rebounds against Atlanta. He looked like the player the Sixers expected when they signed him to a four-year deal in the 2024 offseason.
“Just been healthier,” George said after the loss. “Last year was a lot going on. I was just trying to patch up stuff. This year, I’m a lot healthier. I feel like I can play my game. I feel like I can be myself.”
George averaged 22.6 points and shot 47.1% from the floor and 41.3% from deep in his final season with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24. He earned All-Star honors that year before his production declined significantly during his first season in Philadelphia, where he played just 41 games.
The 16-year veteran faced harsh criticism on social media about being past his prime. George acknowledged the outside noise but rejected the notion that his best days were behind him.
“I mean, prior to coming here, I was coming off one of my most efficient seasons,” George explained. “All-Star that year. I didn’t see myself being washed that fast, but I knew. I knew that this league is about what you can do now, and they tend to forget everything that I have done. So, it was a bit of motivation going into the summer to just get healthy and kind of let everything else take care of itself.”
George explained the mental toll of not meeting expectations while dealing with physical limitations last season. He had high expectations for himself and from teammates in his first year with the organization.
“Oh, my God. I mean, it was rough, man,” George said of 2024-25. “It was brutal. And when you play for Philly, it’s brutal, man. I had an expectation coming into the year, and for me, me alone, like not even the noise outside and whatever people said, you know? It was just me, the expectation I had, and my first year playing with these guys, and the expectation they had of me, and it was just a lot that physically, I just couldn’t do.”
“Mentally, man, it broke me down,” George continued. “It was rough and hard times just because it was like, ‘Man, I know what I’m capable of, but my body’s just not allowing it.’ So it was a rough one last year.”
George’s season ended on March 3, giving him extended time to focus on his body. He took only three weeks off during the entire offseason while working on his conditioning and strength.
“I mean, through that time all the way leading up to opening night, I mean, I might have took off three weeks that whole time span,” George stated. “I probably took off three weeks here and there through almost a whole year. So, that was a lot of time for me to just work on my body. It was around the clock every day. Even on vacation, I’m lifting, I’m working out. Wherever I was at, I was working out.”
George acknowledged he is not yet at 100% but feels stronger and more capable of playing his style. His body has responded to the work he put in during the extended break.