Jan 27, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) looks on after a score against the Milwaukee Bucks during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
CAMDEN, N.J. -- The 25-game suspension is now a thing of the past and that is exactly where Paul George wants it to be.
Tuesday, George met with the media at the Sixers practice facility for the first time since his penalty for using a banned substance and talked of his disappointment in himself, the state of his body and mind, and how forward he is looking to coming back.
He can help his team, which is now slotted as the seventh seed in the East, just a game-and-a-half behind the fifth seed. Just three games stand between six teams between the fifth and 10th seeds in this jumbled pack.
Paul George with his takeaways from his 25-game suspension. pic.twitter.com/0Q42mW2d56
“First and foremost, to give my apology to the city of Philadelphia, my family, my teammates, the organization, everybody that was affected through this suspension,” George said in an opening statement. “Obviously to own up to that as a leader of this group and brought here to be a leader and help bring that edge and a possibility and a chance to win here, to let people down hurt more than kind of anything going through this process.
"Shoutout to the guys for having my back, for supporting me through this time to where now things are on the positive side and looking forward to tomorrow and being available and give it everything I’ve got.”
The veteran forward would not go into specifics about the suspension and what banned substance he took, but did say, “At the moment I didn’t know exactly the repercussions. It was just a poorly timed decision. Being a pro athlete takes a toll on you and my body wasn’t where I wanted it to be and the expectations to perform because of my body not being where it needed to be. Obviously, I’m going to have an expectation for myself and that’s what led to the poor decision at the time. But, again, I said it throughout my career, I’ve been dealing with mental health. I’m no superhero, I’m a human, and I made a mistake in the moment.”
"I've said it throughout my career dealing with mental health: I'm no superhero. I'm a human. And I made a mistake at that moment."
Paul George addressed his 25-game suspension.
He is expected to return to the Sixers lineup tomorrow.
(via @PHLY_Sixers)pic.twitter.com/dKUq5E7FJq
Since, George has been described as being nothing but a terrific teammate, working hard at all practices and shootarounds, helping younger teammates with their games, being involved intensely in film study and a big part of road trips, though he wasn’t allowed to attend games.
He will now be entering a lineup where rookie VJ Edgecombe has grown his game by leaps and bounds, due to his skills and due to the gravity of the team’s situation of having so many injuries. George has had a big hand in Edgecombe’s improvement.
“I’ve been very much a part of this group,” said George. “I’ve been on the scout group getting the guys prepared. I’ve been Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), I’ve been Luka (Doncic), you name it who we’ve played I’ve been that personnel to prepare for those games. I’ve done a ton of time in the weight room, conditioning. On the court just staying in shape, staying sharp.
“I’ve been trying to just help him develop, slowing the game down, picking and choosing his spots and just being at peace with his game, being under control. So, over the past 25 games, especially the past seven or eight games, he just looks like the game is starting to slow down for him, he’s starting to see games differently, he’s getting to his spots, he’s raising up, playing comfortably in the mid-range area, which we’ve worked a ton on."
And like a proud teacher, George is enjoying watching his pupil grow.
" I see it," he said. "It’s fun for me to watch his process right now because a lot of the stuff we’ve been working on, he’s starting to pick it up and it’s starting to be like, second nature. He’s such a phenomenal athlete, I’m trying to incorporate how to use his athleticism as well as his patience and seeing things differently. It’s been fun to watch. He’s excited for me to come back and I’m excited to play out there with him.”
And George, who is averaging 16 points in the 27 games that he’s played this season, knows how he wants to play upon his return.
“I’m looking forward to coming back to a group of guys that are much more confident going forward, who has gotten a lot of game time and being put in difficult positions where they’ve had to figure it out and they’ve done so,” George said. “Now to be back implemented with the group is only going to be good for us. I’m in a much better place physically and so I’m, from a personal standpoint, really excited about that. Those 25 games was just what I needed, just for my body to kind of heal and be in a better place. I’ve been feeling great, been feeling awesome on the court. I’m looking forward to putting it to the test now.
“I’ve been feeling great, feeling explosive again, feeling strong again. And so, I feel like I’m back on that level of being able to perform and be the focal guy and be the scorer. So, that’s my mindset going into tomorrow is to get back to being aggressive. Obviously, there will be some rust with missing 25 games, especially this part of the season where guys are playing playoff basketball, so to speak. There will be a little rust but I’m just looking forward to being full fledge thrown out there, being in the mix and being aggressive. Whatever happens, happens. I’m looking to go out there to do what I’ve done over my career.”
And it all begins, again, on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. George doesn’t think he could be any more ready.
“I’m in a better place,” he said. “Being a pro athlete and the most difficult thing is when your body isn’t where you know it needs to be or where it once was, that leads to the mental side of things, knowing that you’re limited. But for me, I feel good, my body is feeling great. Mentally I know I’m capable of doing what I can do and what I’ve been able to do on the court for years. So, the mental thing only comes from the physical side not being in a great place.”
