The Philadelphia 76ers acquiring Paul George has been the biggest highlight of the 2024 Free Agency. With George now teaming up with fellow All-Stars such as Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, most fans and analysts are certain that the 2025 NBA Championship is Nick Nurse and co.’s to lose. However, judging PG from his past performance, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst refuses to admit that the 6ft 8” star will “change everything” for Philly.
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The 34-year-old established himself as a superstar during his stint with the Indiana Pacers. In 2017, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and later in 2019 by the Los Angeles Clippers, to play a bigger role and help the teams win the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, despite having an extremely great roster, George failed to deliver.
Considering that PG has not even been close to meeting the expectations set for him, Windhorst claims that hyping his move to the Sixers will lead to no good. Even though the ESPN analyst admitted that the acquisition of the sharpshooter was huge for the Pennsylvania side, Windhorst refused to agree that the Young Trece’s arrival could change everything.
“This is the fourth time in about seven years that Paul George has been a headliner of an offseason move… The previous three have led to what? And that’s my point. I’m not sure. I certainly recognize that the 76ers are a formidable team… But I’m just, I’m tired of sitting here the first week of July and declaring that a Paul George arrival changes the everything, because I believe that with the Clippers. I thought that team was set up to dominate,” Brian Windhorst said on an episode of First Take.
.@WindhorstESPN is “tired” of the idea that adding Paul George “changes everything” for a team
“This is now the fourth time you could say he was a leading headline in the offseason. The previous three have led to what?” pic.twitter.com/y4nRweCp2N
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 4, 2024
PG13 is one of the best two-way players in the modern NBA. But Windhorst doesn’t seem to be unreasonable with his statements. Despite all the hype surrounding him, besides a few trips to the Conference Finals, George hasn’t even come close to winning a ring yet.
Why Brian Windhorst is right in not hyping the Paul George move
There is no doubt that King George is a legend of the 2010s era. He’s averaged more than 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists (per Basketball Reference) in his career and even made it to 9 All-Star and multiple All-NBA & All-Defensive teams. But apart from these personal accolades, PG has nothing concrete to show for in his resume.
After parting ways with the Pacers, he had a great bunch of teammates – Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Steven Adams – to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship. Despite having a terrific individual stint with the OKC, PG was unable to help the team advance past the first round of the playoffs in either of the two seasons.
In 2019, fans were certain that George could put an end to his losing streak once he teamed up with Kawhi Leonard at the Los Angeles Clippers. As if the team wasn’t already stacked enough, the front office even acquired James Harden and Russell Westbrook to help PG and Leonard lead the Clippers to a title win. During the 2019-2023 period, barring two Western Conference Finals appearances, PG failed to add a title to his trophy cabinet once again.
Considering that PG13 is ringless despite being part of several championship contenders over the past decade, it isn’t surprising that the likes of Brian Windhorst aren’t salivating over the Sixers’ chances to win. While many might not be too convinced about the 76ers’ shot at lifting the championship, it is fair to say that it will be entertaining to watch the big three, Joel Embiid, Paul Geroge, and Tyrese Maxey, set foot on the hardwood together.
