Paul George’s reputation around the league has taken a serious hit since his days in Indiana, the team that drafted him in 2010. Ever since being traded to OKC in the summer of 2017, PG13 has been ridiculed by fans for his failures in leading his teams in the playoffs. This trend continued when he joined the Clippers in 2019, and his move to Philadelphia in 2024 made him the butt of several jokes, as the 76ers suffered one of the worst regular seasons in franchise history.
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George has suffered injuries throughout his career that have prevented him from reaching his full potential, starting with a horrific leg break during a Team USA showcase game in 2014. Since then, he’s had his ups and downs, with his progression repeatedly interrupted by untimely injuries. His year in Philly was no different—he hyperextended his knee in the preseason and later tore an adductor, sidelining him for the rest of the season. He played only 41 games.
Of course, all this resulted in George facing a lot of hate and abuse from fans—but Carmelo Anthony came to his defense on the latest episode of Podcast P.
While Melo never suffered an injury as serious as PG’s, he understands what it’s like to stare down uncertainty after surgery. He revealed that he had undergone knee surgery during the 2015 season but chose to keep it under wraps, fearing backlash if fans found out.
After the surgery, Melo returned to the court, but he admitted he wasn’t fully ready. His range of motion was limited, and he couldn’t rely on some of his old tricks simply because his knee wouldn’t allow it. He said it took a toll on him mentally, as he was forced to change and adapt his game—adding a post-fadeaway move he wasn’t entirely comfortable with at the time.
“Went to go get surgery, nobody knew. Came back next year, I wasn’t-I knew I wasn’t- there was no way I was 100%,” he revealed.
“You can’t work out, so you start visualizing the game. Then you get back to certain sh*t that you only can do, but you gon look nasty dong it. Then you gon get frustrated with yourself, so you start compromising other sh*t and doing other sh*t.”
His point? George’s uncertainty in the off-season may have indirectly affected his entire first year in Philadelphia.
Not only was he undervalued by the Clippers, but he also had to adjust to a new system with the 76ers while dealing with his injuries on top of that. All of these factors combined are enough to take a toll on even the most mentally strong players.
As Melo put it, “You can’t really control the injuries, the front office, so basketball is what you really running to! For him (PG), I’m sure it was coming into a season, like, the uncertainty of where you gonna be at, that weighs heavy on you. Even though you train, you don’t know what they training on, you don’t know what system you gon be in.”
Add to this the abuse George has received from the infamously hostile Philly fans, and it’s enough to make anyone severely underperform. Melo had an answer for this, too. Rather than telling George how to fix his game, he simply said that at his age, PG needed to stop playing harder and start playing smarter.
As a 15-year veteran in the league, George has accumulated enough experience to outthink his opponents rather than outrun or outjump them.
With the 76ers in control of the 3rd overall pick in next year’s draft, it will be interesting to see how Paul George bounces back from his disastrous season and carries out his duties as the team’s veteran leader.
