Sixers forward Paul George consulting doctors as he considers procedures for groin and knee injuries

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 13, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — First it was Joel Embiid. Now, the 76ers could be without Paul George.

George missed the past four games while consulting with doctors for treatment options for his ailing left groin and left knee. A source confirmed Thursday that those options include a possible procedure, and the decision is expected to be made early next week.

George’s impending absence comes after the Sixers announced on Feb. 28 that Embiid’s season was over.

Embiid’s decision was made after the seven-time All-Star underwent further evaluation on his left knee. Embiid and the team determined the 7-foot-2 center was medically unable to play and would remain sidelined to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.

Like the 2023 NBA MVP, George has been dealing with injuries since the preseason.

The 6-8 forward was sidelined three weeks after hyperextending his left knee, which led to a bone bruise, during an Oct. 14 exhibition game at the Atlanta Hawks. He suffered the same injury 39 seconds into the second half of the Sixers’ Nov. 20 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

He’s also been hampered by left groin soreness, right ankle soreness and a torn tendon in his left pinkie. George has missed 24 of the Sixers’ 65 games because of injury and load management. And he’s averaging just 16.2 points, the fourth-lowest average of his 15 NBA seasons.

“It’s super frustrating,” George said recently of injuries affecting his season. “Super frustrating, especially, coming in with big goals and what I wanted to accomplish and what the team wants to accomplish, and then to always have these setbacks. It’s super frustrating, I for sure feel it.

“But you know all the bad luck, something has to change. That’s all I can kind of weigh on, is things will change. There are positives in all of it. I just got to weather the storm.”

The 34-year-old had been taking painkilling injections to play while battling through his multiple injuries.

Despite that, George announced during his latest episode of ‘Podcast P with Paul George’ that he was taking a step back from the podcast to focus on getting his body and helping the Sixers turn things around. The decision came before the Feb. 26 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“It was more so just to focus on here,” George told the media after the game. “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 the key focus of, obviously, being here and trying to turn things around here.

“The full focus is trying to get this team together, but we got to give ourselves a chance. Take it one game at a time, but we got to give ourselves a chance to see what we can do down the stretch.”

He would play in the next three games before being sidelined to undergo evaluations.

George signed a four-year, $211.5 million salary contract with the Sixers to form a Big Three with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Walker IV concussion

In other news, Lonnie Walker IV was diagnosed with a concussion Thursday morning, after hitting his head in the first quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. The shooting guard entered the NBA’s concussion protocol. The Sixers signed Walker to a two-year, $3.7 million contract on Feb. 21.