Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George scared fans after he hyperextended his left knee during their preseason game on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks. George was defending forward Jalen Johnson when he had the scary injury, which caused him to lie down on the floor.
ESPN’s Shams Charania gave an update on George’s health moving forward. According to multiple reports, the injury that the All-Star forward sustained isn’t serious. Luckily for him and the Sixers, the severity of the injury isn’t career-threatening and only sustained a bone bruise.
“Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George has a bone bruise and no structural damage to his left knee and will be re-evaluated in approximately one week, team says,” Charania reported.
George ended up only playing for 12 minutes and finished the game with 8 points and 2 rebounds. Monday’s bout against the Hawks was only the second NBA preseason game played for the forward. Following the Sixers’ 104-89 win, head coach Nick Nurse addressed the concern regarding George.
“PG was here today,” Nurse said on Tuesday. “Got looked at again. Everything checks out okay. They are going to do some further imaging this afternoon, see if there’s anything else. He’s in good spirits. A number of the vets didn’t practice today, coming off of a late night. But we’ll see what happens with imaging.”
The six-time All-NBA forward is expected to miss at least one week of action to recover from his injury.
Over the summer, the nine-time All-Star switched conferences after opting out of his $48.7 million contract with the LA Clippers and became a free agent. With the Sixers, he signed a four-year, $212 million deal.
George played a significant part in the Clippers’ success last year. He averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while being named an All-Star for the ninth time in his career.
Fans were concerned with Paul George following the knee injury he sustained against the Hawks. Fans weren’t sure about the severity of George’s injury but he gave a positive update following his exit during the preseason game.
According to a Philly Inquirer reporter, George was walking around with a sleeve over his knee. When asked about the injury, the forward shared that he is “not too concerned” with what happened.
The Sixers need George back in the lineup before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season. Philly will kick its season off on Oct. 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks at home.