It's only mid-July, yet the Philadelphia Sixers still can't catch a break. On Monday evening, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Paul George underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee earlier in the day. The injury happened during a recent workout. George will be re-evaluated before the start of training camp.
So, George will spend the rest of the summer rehabbing, while Joel Embiid is allowed to participate in only partial basketball activities after undergoing surgery in April. To have a shot at making the deep playoff run fans have been waiting for, the Sixers need Embiid to be healthy and at his best. They need George to be healthy and not look like the player he was for most of last season.
It's not at all reassuring that both of their statuses are up in the air for the start of the season. Yes, that's still months away, so it's better to deal with this now. However, as with last season, it could be another sign of what's to come.
Paul George surgery is last thing Sixers fans wanted to hear
Philadelphia has had a quiet offseason, with most of its moves in the rearview mirror. The Quentin Grimes signing should be forthcoming, and is more important now after the George news. The Sixers did what they could to upgrade the roster around the margins, but if Embiid and George don't spend most of the 2025-26 season healthy (including the postseason), it won't matter a whole lot.
The George signing was an overpay as soon as it happened last summer, but fans were hopeful because he was coming off a season where he played 74 games, the most he had played since the 2018-19 season. He played in only 41 games in his first season with the Sixers after missing time with several different injuries. Philadelphia shut him down for the remainder of the season in mid-March.
Four months later, it's clear that he may not be ready in time for the start of next season. The Sixers can't escape what has become a never-ending list of injuries. As much as fans wanted to leave the disappointing injury updates in the past, it's part of what happens when your two stars are injury-prone.
Hopefully, George will be cleared in time for the start of training camp. The same applies to Embiid as well. It's unreasonable to expect either player (particularly Embiid) to come close to hitting the 82-game mark next season, but it'd be quite the win if both played in at least 60 games.
At this point in time, the odds of that happening aren't high.