Paul George has a résumé that should earn him enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He's a six-time All-NBA honoree, four-time All-Defense selectee, and nine-time All-Star who has led two different teams to the Conference Finals as a go-to scorer.
As the Philadelphia 76ers search for ways to erase a 2-0 series deficit against the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, however, a question persists: Can George rediscover that form?
For as decorated as he may be, George hasn't been an All-Star since 2023-24 and last made an All-NBA team in 2020-21. To make matters worse, he's played 78 of a possible 164 regular season games between his two years with the 76ers.
Thankfully, George has shown flashes of the future Hall of Famer he is during the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
George finished the first round with averages of 17.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.1 three-point field goals made per game on .489/.550/.778 shooting. He then posted 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field during Game 1 against the Knicks.
With Joel Embiid battling an injury and George struggling during Game 2, however, the 76ers need more than elite efficiency. They need George to play like an All-Star again.
76ers need Paul George to play like a star again—even if it's not every game
Philadelphia dropped Game 2 by a razor-thin margin of six points during a 108-102 loss. It was a fairly impressive result considering the 76ers were playing without Embiid, Tyrese Maxey shot 9-of-23 and committed six turnovers, and George went 7-of-18 from the field.
Had the stars played even somewhat close to their full potential—or in Embiid's case, at all—there's at least some reason to believe that Philadelphia could've evened the series at 1-1.
Clearly, conjecture and hypothetical outcomes mean nothing in a real game environment. What Game 2 proved, however, is that the 76ers can still compete with the Knicks without Embiid on the court. What they won't be able to do, however, is win many games without George elevating his own.
Thankfully, there's a simple reason to believe George can rediscover his star form with the 76ers' backs against the wall: He did it during the previous series.
With Philadelphia trailing Boston 3-1, George posted 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. He then tallied 23 points to help win Game 6. Each performance epitomized what he's still capable of and how important his personal success is to the 76ers' growth as a team.
There are no shortage of players who need to step up if the 76ers hope to defeat the Knicks, but George is chief among them with a history of stardom and the talent to even briefly rediscover such form.
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