MILWAUKEE — Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George has worked as hard as ever to get to the point where he is right now. After an injury-riddled first season with the Sixers in which he played only 41 games, George missed the first 12 games of the season and has only played in seven of the first 22 overall, but something clicked for him in Friday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
George finished with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting and he knocked down two 3s while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists. He scored six points in the fourth and had four rebounds and two assists as well in the final frame. He looked like himself again. He was able to go left again. He was able to get to his spots.
That is something that a lot of people doubted he could do at this stage of his career as it appeared the 2024-25 season was the beginning of the end for the 9-time All-Star.
“That’s the toughest thing that people don’t understand,” George said after the win in Milwaukee. “It’s hard when you’re so used to doing something, and you get on the court, and it’s just natural. Your body just does certain things, and then, outside looking in, they see us on the court, and they’re like, ‘Yo, why aren’t you doing this?’ It’s just like, my body can’t, you know? My body can’t. I’m trying.”
George certainly broke through against the Bucks as he even told Tyrese Maxey that he was going to take care of everything in the fourth. He did so in a big way to help the Sixers pick up a win as he realized he was able to do things on the offensive end he hasn’t been able to in a while amid a lot of criticism from the outside world.
“It does become a moment where you’re like, hold on,” George explained. “That light pops back on, and it’s gratifying. It feels great because you put so much work into it, and you’re beating yourself up. You’re down on yourself, and then it comes back, and for me, it’s still trying to come back, but what I’ve been able to notice is just my ability to just attack left handed. Attack to my left side, where the left leg has to be dominant and be strong and kind of be stable, so that I’m able to get a little more aggressive going left. For me, that’s the light popping back on that I can start to trust it again.”
A lot of people will sit here and say that George is washed or that he can’t do it anymore. When a player hears that, it can be easy to feed into it and begin believing it. George, instead, drowned all of that out, kept grinding, and the work is paying off.
“I mean, you just got to drown out the noise because that’s the biggest thing about it,” he continued. “You get down on yourself. For me, I’m up there in age. I’m a veteran guy now. So, it becomes a moment where you got to drown that noise out that you’re getting old and you’re washed and you can’t do it anymore, and for me, it was kind of just drowning that out.”
If his performance against the Bucks was any indication, it was that George still has plenty left in the tank. He lifted the Sixers and the hope and idea now is that he will continue to play this well with more reps and continue to get his work in. “Washed” is not on his mind.
“I don’t think I’m at that stage yet,” he finished. “So, just kind of drown that noise out, continue to put work in, continue to rehab, continue to lift, and then, we got a great supporting cast here of getting us prepared and ready with our player development guys. So, just lean in on them. They’ve done an amazing job getting me to this point, and, yeah, man. It’s a village with this one.”
George and the Sixers will take on the Los Angeles Lakers back at home on Sunday.