Paul George’s 16th NBA season finally appears ready to get underway.
The Philadelphia 76ers star forward is reportedly expected to make his season debut at home against his former Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
George, a six-time all-NBAer and nine-time all-star, has been sidelined for the team’s first 12 games while he recovered from off-season arthroscopic knee surgery.
The 35-year-old joined the 76ers last season via free agency, signing a four-year, $212-million max contract, but his tenure hasn’t gotten off to a smooth start.
George played in just 41 games last season due to various knee injuries going back all the way to training camp. He averaged 16.2 points — his lowest scoring output in more than a decade — to go with 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals on 43.0/35.8/81.4 per cent shooting splits.
George was drafted 10th overall in 2010 by the Indiana Pacers. He spent seven seasons with the team before stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder (two seasons) and Los Angeles Clippers (five seasons). The four-time all-defensive player has averaged 20.6 points, 6.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals through 908 career NBA games.
His injury woes were part of a greater story for the 76ers last season as George’s running mates, centre Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey, also missed significant time with injuries. The trio was primed to be one of the top groups in the NBA, but played all of just 18 games together as Philadelphia stumbled to a 24-58 record for 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Luckily for 76ers fans, Maxey has remained healthy this season as he’s ascended to one of the league’s premier scorers (fourth in the NBA), averaging 32.0 points. Embiid, meanwhile, has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, averaging 19.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in six games for a 7-5 Philadelphia squad.
