Paul George pledges to return to form after his worst season: ‘There shouldn’t be any limitation in the future’

The 76ers signed Paul George to a maximum-salary contract last summer, hoping the nine-time All-Star would be an impactful two-way player.

Instead, his first season in Philadelphia was an injury-plagued disaster. And he admitted as much.

“To be honest, it was one of the toughest seasons for me, just with a lot of adversity on the court, off the court,” George said. “The injury stuff … was some stuff I didn’t necessarily know I had going on until deep diving and finding out.

“There was other stuff I didn’t know that was causing my limitations, which was frustrating — not being able to do things I normally could do, and finding out the reason why. Those things are being addressed, so that’s the positive.”

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George missed six games from March 6-16 while consulting with doctors about treatment options for his ailing left groin and left knee. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder subsequently received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and his knee and was ruled out for the remainder of the season on March 17.

But George, who turns 35 on May 2, had been dealing with injuries since the preseason.

He was sidelined three weeks after hyperextending his left knee, which led to a bone bruise, during an Oct. 14 preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. He suffered the same injury during the Sixers’ Nov. 20 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

He’s also been hampered by left groin soreness, right ankle soreness, and a torn tendon in his left little finger. George missed 41 games because of injuries and load management.

And when he played, he had a tough time creating separation while averaging just 16.2 points, the fourth-lowest average of his 15 NBA seasons.

The low point of the season came in the Sixers’ 100-96 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Feb. 12. With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey both sidelined, George was expected to carry the Sixers’ scoring load.

Instead, he had two points on 1-for-7 shooting to go with six rebounds, four assists, two steals, three blocks, and three turnovers.

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It was revealed the next day that George had been taking pain medicine in order to play.

“I think just not giving up,” he said of what he learned about himself this season. “With all the frustration, just not giving up. Try to keep working, keep being positive, optimistic.”

George said Sunday that he’s a lot healthier. He’s still taking things slowly, though.

His finger limitations are nonexistent. His groin is taking a little time to heal, while the knee has been trending in the right direction.

“All in all, I’m expecting to ramp up to a great summer and hitting the ground running,” he said. “So there shouldn’t be any limitation for me in the future to train and get prepared for this next season.”

George has career averages of 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals. In addition to being a nine-time All-Star, he is a six-time All-NBA selection, four-time All-defensive pick, 2012-13 most improved playe,r and led the league in steals with 170 in 2018-19.

He was still recognized as one of the league’s elite two-way players while averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2023-24 season. He also shot a career-best 41.3% on three-pointers while garnering All-Star honors that season.

“I know what level I can play at when I am healthy,” he said, “and obviously, it’s a struggle when I’m not healthy. So for me, it’s just trying to get my body in the best shape as possible, and get as healthy as possible and continue to do the work that I’ve been doing as far as basketball training and to prepare for the season.”