Basketball fans are very excited. Not just because this year’s NBA playoffs have been wild, but Podcast P with Paul George has dropped its first episode in nearly three months. The show went on hiatus when George announced that he was taking some time off to focus on getting healthy and helping his team, the Philadelphia 76ers, win a championship. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter much this year as the 76ers finished the season 24-58 and weren’t even able to compete in the Play-In tournament.
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Still, PG’s podcast does have a large following, so the absence of the show left a huge hole in the hearts of many of his loyal listeners. Other than his brief statement, there weren’t really too many details as to why George, now 35, decided to go on hiatus. However, that was the first thing he addressed in his latest episode. He recalled some advice his father once gave him to explain his decision a little further.
“I’m not a person that run away from anything,” said the nine-time All-Star. “My dad kind of instilled that ‘you face your problems and you move on from it. It’s there and it’s gone.’ A reason I took the hiatus, more so, was that I wanted to get my body healthy. I wasn’t mentally there in a time of where we were at.” The Sixers announced in March that PG would be sidelined for the rest of the season due to the knee injury he had been battling.
So why the return for George? Because he wanted to check in with his loyal listeners and let them know how much they meant to him. “Now it’s obviously the summer. My downtime. I’m training and focusing on my body. I did procedures to get ready for this next season and I kind of just want to touch back with my fanbase. The ones who were concerned,” he stated. “It’s not just about me. We’ve kind of created something where people are enjoying these, looking forward to these,” he added.
It seems that the advice PG’s father gave him helped carry him through those darker moments of this past season. The Sixers were playoff contenders the previous two seasons, but George and Joel Embiid going down to injury was the nail in the horrific season’s coffin.
George, then stepping away from the one thing that was bringing him joy, must have been hard. Fortunately, his podcasting skills have become so advanced that fans welcomed him back with open arms.
At 35, George is nearing the end of his playing days. Does PG have one potential championship run left in him? With how competitive the league has become, there’s no question it could happen. Regardless of whether it does, George has a new career waiting for him. One that can cement his legacy even further in the world of professional basketball.
