CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers and Paul George were a match made in heaven in 2024 free agency. Seeking a star-sized upgrade, the Sixers paid top dollar for George to be the high-powered third option alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. It’s a new chance for George to join a championship hopeful.
“Definitely look forward to coming to Philly,” George said. “My family's looking forward to it. We felt that this was the best and next step in this phase of my career. I thought everything just aligned perfectly where they're at and where they're trying to go and where I'm trying to get to as well. I think we got a real, legitimate shot.”
The 76ers pulled out all the stops to land George, taking franchise legend Julius Erving along for the trip with the team's ownership and front office to George's house. The fact that he wore an Allen Iverson shirt all but confirmed his decision. He's staying in red, white and blue threads but for a franchise and area of the country that is brand new to him.
The Sixers landing George was a stroke of good fortune that was created by another team's mistakes. The Los Angeles Clippers self-sabotaged their negotiations with him, piquing the LA native's interest in finding another team to spend the rest of his days as a star. In Philly, he said, he found a new team that has made him feel at home from the get-go. Still, leaving Los Angeles was not the easiest decision to accept.
George admitted that his Clippers didn’t reach the heights they strived for over his five-year tenure but indicated that the split was amicable.
“Amazing time there. No regret,” George said. “Super thankful to [team owner Steve Ballmer], to [president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank]. They went out and gave me an opportunity to play at home, which, at that point in time, was a ton of value for myself to be able to play in front of my family, my friends and have a legitimate shot to chase the championship every season…I think both sides, we had a great mutual talk as it all played out and I felt it was great closure on the situation.”
George said he has been a fan of Embiid and Maxey from afar. His Clippers co-star, Kawhi Leonard, spoke highly about Nick Nurse, who George is looking forward to being coached by. Philly’s veteran-laden roster offers playoff experience and some youthful upside. The spotlight shines brightly on PG-13, the new-look 76ers and their quest to be among the true elites of the NBA. The 34-year-old All-Star made it clear that all he wants to do is win no matter what.
“There's no ego with me,” George said. At this stage in his career, a successful title conquest is the biggest omission from his NBA resumé. Just as he did with the Clippers, he voiced a desire to be a high-level complementary piece to the star alongside him.
“It's not about shots for me, it's not about having the ball in my hands the whole game. It's about winning. I wanna make winning plays,” he added. “I know over the course of a game when I need to be aggressive, when I need to raise the level. But for me, it's about winning. That's all I care about is trying to win, putting everything towards that. And that's really the conversation we three need to have — myself, Joel and Tyrese. Whatever it takes, let's go do it, let's get the job done and then we just relay that to the team.”
Paul George reveals “secret” All-Star friendship with Joel Embiid
When Embiid took to the NBA Countdown desk at the NBA Finals on which George was a guest panelist, it seemed like a perfect attempt by the 76ers center to do a little friendly tampering. His side-eye in George's direction, 76ers managing partner Josh Harris said, was where the efforts to land him all started. However, that’s not where he and Embiid's relationship began — not even close.
“Joel has secretly been one of my closest All-Star game friends,” George said. “It kind of felt inevitable that at some point we would link up and be teammates. So, I'm all in. My family's here, all in. I'm excited, looking forward to this next opportunity.”
Embiid and George have crossed paths at All-Star weekend three times, teaming up on the same roster twice. Whether it be George not being named a few times or Embiid not participating in the game, their times together during the mid-season festivities have been somewhat sparse. But what their time lacks in quantity has been more than made up for in quality.
“I kind of just got that read from him. I'm not much of a social guy in the All-Star setting. I kind of keep to myself. So, randomly, he came to me and we just started talking,” he said, reminiscing on one of the first times they were All-Stars together. “Then, it got to a point where it was like, ‘Man, I look forward to talking to Joel this All-Star weekend.’”
Through friendly chats about their careers and families, Embiid and George bonded. The big man may have a fun-loving personality and witty sense of humor but he can be reserved at times, too. Embiid overcoming his introversion and making it clear to George how much their friendship means to him, George said, was “deep” and a sign of the tightness their friendship shares.
“I think what kind of hit it home is we had a conversation before these convos [to join the 76ers] even started,” George said. “We had a conversation that was basically like he opened up to me. ‘I don't have a lot of people I talk to, I this, I that, I keep to myself.’ But he was like, ‘Man, regardless of what goes on, I look at you as someone that I want to be friends with for a long part of my life.’”
Embiid and George's bond grew to another level in that moment — and it will only continue to blossom as they play full seasons together. Wearing the No. 8 to signify his appreciation for former Philly kid Kobe Bryant, George is finally teaming up with Embiid, another massive admirer of Bryant.
It goes without saying that the pressure to perform with the 76ers is immense. Putting aside the Clippers fans eager to see their former star fail, the Philly fan base is starved for a long playoff run and antsy at the thought of wasting the rest of Embiid's prime. George's recent history of playoff failures won’t do him any favors. Finding a new level of success with his fourth NBA team can flip the shaky narrative around George. Failing to do so will only solidify it.
Pressure and intensity, George explained, are good things.“That's what you get up for,” he said. His 76ers tenure is starting with a lot of hype. Ahead of the ups and downs ahead, the veteran star knows what he’s getting himself into. At this point in his career, it’s exactly what he wants.
“At the end of the day,” Paul George said, “it's brotherly love, right?”
Follow Us
Subscribe
