Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. He received injections in his left adductor muscle and left knee on Monday.
Over the past week, George has been consulting with doctors on the best path forward for his various ailments. The team confirmed that George will officially be ruled out for at least six weeks, which technically could make him eligible to return in the playoffs. Philadelphia is five games behind the Chicago Bulls for the 10th and final Play In Tournament spot.
This marks the end of a miserable first season for George with the Sixers. After signing a deal worth $212M over four years in the summer, George played in just 41 games and averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 steals. That’s far below the level of the All-NBA caliber player Philadelphia expected.
As a result of being ruled out the rest of the regular season, George has now played fewer than 60 games in five of the last six seasons.
The Sixers entered the season with championship aspirations but are now left trying to avoid conceding their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The pick is top-six protected.
Season Of Hurt For George
The signs were ominous early. George hyperextended his left knee in the preseason and missed the first five games of the regular season as a result. There was another hyperextension in November followed by a left pinkie injury in January. Then came the left groin injury.
As a result of all the injuries, George also decided to step away from his podcast.
“I haven’t been the healthiest, so it’s just been putting a ton of work towards getting my body as healthy as possible, and to keep focus of obviously being here and trying to turn things around here and the full focus is trying to get this team together,” George said.
Philadelphia has lost 12 of its last 14 games entering Monday night’s action.
