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Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward Paul George is reportedly expected to make his 2024-25 season debut on Monday against the Phoenix Suns, which would then allow him to play in Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
During this week’s episode of Podcast P with Paul George Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment (6:15 mark), he spoke about how he expects to feel when he returns to Los Angeles to face his former team.
“As it always is returning to familiar places, it’s always gonna be emotional because you spent so much time with these people and you’ve really learned and counted them and looked at them as family, so it’ll definitely have some emotional touch to it. And then obviously, seeing the homies, seeing the guys that you’ve played against and you’ve went to battle with, so it’ll be fun on that aspect to compete against those guys,” George said, going on to say that his return is “gonna be dope.”
George, who signed a four-year, $212 million deal with the Sixers this offseason after spending the last five seasons with the Clippers, has been sidelined since suffering a bone bruise in his left knee during a preseason game on Oct. 14.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the 34-year-old participated in a 5-on-5 scrimmage on Friday and went through practice on Sunday. Philadelphia officially designated him as questionable for the game against Phoenix, but he’s expected to make his return “barring any setbacks,” Charania noted.
A Los Angeles native, George appeared to be a perfect match for the Clippers when he and Kawhi Leonard joined the team together in 2019. However, their partnership was defined by disappointment, as they both dealt with injuries that hindered them from achieving their goal of bringing a championship to the downtrodden franchise.
George appeared in less than 60 games in four out of his five years with his hometown team. The nine-time All-Star had his healthiest season in 2023-24, appearing in 74 games and posting career highs of 47.1 percent shooting, 41.3 percent from three-point range and 90.7 percent from the free-throw line.
The Sixers are hoping that George can stay healthy and form a dangerous trio with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, the latter of whom has also yet to make his season debut while he nurses a knee injury.
Monday’s game against the Suns will be an early test for George before he faces the Clippers in his return to Los Angeles.
