76ers swingman Paul George was slapped with a 25-game suspension back in January for breaking the NBA’s anti-drug policy. This week, after over two months of inactivity, he’s set to return to action and help his team in the upcoming playoff fight.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Bulls, he spoke up about his “mistake” in a chat with USA Today’s Ky Carlin, offering a full apology to fans in an emotional and sincere message.
“I think first and foremost, just give my apology to, obviously, the city of Philadelphia. My family, my teammates, the organization, everybody who was affected through this suspension,” said George. “Obviously, to own up to that as a leader of this group and being brought here to be a leader and help bring you know that edge and a possibility and chance to win here, to let people down, hurts 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 giving everything I got.”
At the time of his suspension, it was theorized that George was taking something for his mental health, but he refused to elaborate on what drug it was. He claims ignorance of the consequences and that it was a poorly timed decision on his part.
“I won’t get into specifics on what it was. That’s more on the personal side,” George added. “At the moment, I didn’t know exactly the repercussions. It was just a poorly timed decision.”
While it hasn’t always been an easy road for PG, he confirmed that he’s in relatively good spirits, despite recent struggles. Still, he was open about some of the mental battles he’s been fighting and how they’ve led to compromised decision-making.
“Yeah, good. Good. Obviously, being a pro athlete takes a toll on you, and my body wasn’t where I wanted it to be, and the expectation 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 the poor decision at the time. Again, I’ve said it throughout my career dealing with mental health. I’m no superhero. I’m a human, and I made a mistake in that moment.”
George has been on several teams throughout his NBA career, but his tenure on the 76ers has not been great so far. Limited to just 68 games over the past two seasons, George has barely been available for the club. Even when he has played, he’s been mediocre, at best, with averages of 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on 42.7% shooting and 36.7% shooting from three.
Both George and his co-star, Joel Embiid, have struggled with injuries over the past two years, but the 76ers have been getting contributions from other sources. Thanks to Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the 76ers have managed to stay above .500, and currently sit 7th in the East at 39-33.
With Paul George returning to the fold, their chances for making a run just got better, but there’s still so much they have to prove. Besides showing cohesion and championship chemistry, they must pray for good health and injury luck as they close out the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
