When Paul George joined the Clippers in 2019, few were as happy as his father. After all, Paul George Sr. lived in California and PG himself was born in Palmdale. 5 years later, as George left his home state for the City of Brotherly Love, George Sr., though disheartened, was right alongside his son showing his support.
PG brought his father out for a special episode of Podcast P. During the conversation, one of the hosts asked George Sr. about the pitch meeting with Philadelphia. It turns out that the Sixers had brought in NBA legend Julius Erving to help persuade PG.
For Paul George Sr., it was “like me meeting Superman or something.” What’s more, Superman was trying to convince George Sr. to help him sign his son. He then shared an anecdote that Erving used to sell the George family on the Sixers. “He started talking about before he got his championship, he was missing that missing piece. And when they got it, they won,” George Sr. shared.
In 1976, Julius Erving transitioned from the ABA to the NBA. The Sixers would promptly acquire his rights from the Nets, making runs to the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. However, they kept falling short. That is, until the 1982-83 season when they acquired Moses Malone.
With their ‘missing piece’ now on the team, Philadelphia would dominate throughout the season and top it off with a sweep against the Lakers in the NBA Finals. George Sr. continued, “And so he stated to Paul, he said, ‘Hey, this is our missing piece right here’.”
That 82-83 season featured the Sixers’ last NBA championship. Now, Dr. J thinks George can be the Malone to Joel Embiid’s Erving, and break that drought. The analogy stumped George Sr., who said, “I was like wow, I say, that’s coming from Dr. J.”
Of course, Julius Erving isn’t the only one to have high hopes for this roster.
Tyrese Maxey thinks the George fit is “crazy”
Shortly after announcing his signing with the Sixers, PG brought out his new teammate Maxey on his podcast. The 23-year-old stated “you can’t ask for nothing better than” the combination of Embiid, himself and George, all of whom excelled in their individual positions.
With Embiid’s natural gravity, Maxey’s ability to move with the ball and George’s quick trigger catch and shoots, defending against this team will be no easy task. Down the stretch, they can have any of these three stars running plays while forcing the defense to contain the other two off-ball. But the main concern for their fit will be in regards to the pecking order.
While it can be assumed that Maxey, being the youngest, will be open to taking a back seat the team will also need Paul George to accept his role behind Joel Embiid and be okay with the big man taking the last shot during some games. That being said, if everything falls into place, this move has the potential to be the last step of the Sixers’ decade-long ‘process’.
