Paul George has battled through numerous injuries in his first year with the Philadelphia 76ers, and the season has now come to an end for him.
George has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Monday. The nine-time All-Star recently received injections to treat his left abductor and knee injuries and will be sidelined from basketball activities for at least six weeks.
A previous report indicated that George could potentially need surgery to address one or both of his injuries.
George signed a 4-year, $212 million contract with the 76ers last summer. His first season with the team could not have gone much worse. George appeared in just 41 games and now finishes with 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Aside from when he played in just six games in 2014-15, that is George’s lowest scoring output in well over a decade.
Philadelphia was just 23-44 entering Monday, so it made little sense to push anything with George. Joel Embiid has already been ruled out for the year with an injury of his own.
Between his poor play and some public comments he made that were widely mocked, George is off to a bad start with fans in Philadelphia. The future looks grim for the franchise with the injury questions surrounding Embiid, so there is no guarantee that Paul will be back with the Sixers next season. Though, shedding the salary the 36-year-old is owed could prove impossible.
