Date set for Sixers at Clippers, Paul George’s return to Los Angeles
The L.A. native will play his first game in his former team’s new arena on Nov. 6.
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Paul George will make his return to Los Angeles to play his former team on Nov. 6, a league official confirmed to The Inquirer. But he’ll be making that return in an unfamiliar arena.
The Clippers are opening their brand-new arena, the Intuit Dome, on Thursday with concerts featuring Bruno Mars and Olivia Rodrigo, before their season opener on Oct. 23 against the Suns. During George’s tenure with the team, it played at Crypto.com Arena, which still is the home of the Lakers and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
George, an L.A. native, originally did not want to leave the city, and he and the Clippers may still have some bad blood. The team offered George far less than fellow star Kawhi Leonard without any trade protection, which he said on his podcast was “disrespectful.”
The Sixers ultimately signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract to team him up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
The return game is the third Sixers game date to be revealed, after the home opener against the Bucks on Oct. 23 and the Christmas Day game in Boston against the Celtics.
The full NBA schedule will be released soon.
Staff writer Keith Pompey contributed to this article.