The Philadelphia 76ers are preparing for their regular-season opener against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, though they're expected to be without one of their star players.
The Sixers are looking to bounce back from a disastrous 2024-25 campaign in which they finished 13th in the Eastern Conference. The team had extremely high expectations after signing Paul George to a four-year, $211.6 million deal, though he played only 41 regular-season games due largely to groin, knee and finger injuries. George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey combined to play in just 112 games.
George underwent arthroscopic surgery in mid-July after sustaining a knee injury in an offseason workout. The star forward has since returned to practice and has participated in some 5-on-5 work, though 76ers head coach Nick Nurse recently provided an alarming update on his status for opening night.
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Nick Nurse provides Paul George injury update
Ky Carlin of USA Today asked Nurse about the possibility of George suiting up in either the team's preseason finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday or the regular-season opener, but Nurse made it clear George isn't ready yet.
“No,” Nurse said when asked if George would play. “I think — like today's, like, yesterday's his first day of live, and today was a short amount of 5-on-5. So we have to just keep waiting.”
George will continue to ramp up in practice, and it bodes well for his return in the near future that he's participating in 5-on-5 work. However, he isn't expected to suit up on opening night for the second straight year.
For now, Philadelphia will focus on getting the 35-year-old back to full strength, with high hopes that a relatively healthy “Big 3” will help the team regain its footing in the East.
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