In a year where nearly everything went wrong for the Sixers, Paul George’s massively underwhelming debut season was near the top of the list. With frequent cold shooting plus injury issues that he was allowed to play through for a ridiculously long time, he never came close to maintaining the kind of play he’s capable of.
It understandably drew frustration from fans... including some amazing encounters when George was out in Philadelphia.
Following the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the Chiefs back in February, George was stuck in traffic and inevitably ran into a bunch of Sixers fans. As everyone realized who they were looking at, the typically Philly joke they threw George’s way was hilarious.
“Yo, that’s Paul George,” he recalled the fans saying, on the latest episode of his podcast. “Yo, that is Paul George. Yo, we coulda kept Tobias [Harris]. We coulda kept Tobias if you gon’ do this s***.”
With George shooting just 35.8 percent from three and averaging his fewest points for the season in over a decade, that kind of trash talk was perfect.
In fairness to George, though, he was good about it. He knew he wasn’t playing well enough, he appreciated how funny it was, and took it on the chin — knowing that Sixers fans are going to call players out when they need to. It’s one of the things that makes Philly such a good fan base.
That said, hopefully for the Sixers, George can get back on track and play well enough to reduce the need for it next season.