Despite successive seasons of premature releases, higher expectations are imposed The Philadelphia 76ers now have a head start on All-Star Paul George, who has joined the ranks of free agency. The franchise’s goal of forming a Big Three has now been achieved and the team is well-equipped to enter the armageddon and win the championship.
Winning the title would not only mean ending a 41-year title drought. For George, who is now joining his fourth team in his careerIt would be a huge vindication of his failed efforts, some of which came within reach by adding the Larry O’Brien Trophy to his collection.
George has been a part of many winning teams. In his early years, he was the main gunner for the Indiana Pacers, a defensive-minded team that nearly dethroned LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the East. Unfortunately, they reached their peak when the Heat and San Antonio Spurs met in back-to-back Finals, collapsing after George broke his leg in 2014.
Meanwhile, his partnership with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City never made a significant impact. Those teams failed to even reach the conference semifinals and were simply too stale to be considered legitimate title contenders.
George appeared poised to win a championship with the LA Clippers as Kawhi Leonard’s sidekick, but as everyone knows, injuries hit him in the heart when it mattered most. The culmination was a confusing outing that landed him with the 76ers.
Philadelphia has more raw talent than any team he’s ever played on (with the possible exception of the 2020 Clippers team), but it would take more than talent to reach the Finals. Health is always a question mark for George (and Embiid), but even assuming they have a clean bill of health, the playoffs are a different story. Heck, George has had his ups and downs in the playoffs in recent years.
Hopefully the 76ers will finally be the ones to hoist Larry next year. If they do, it will be a massive victory not only for the franchise and the city, but also for George, who has flirted with the idea far too many times to imagine another victory.
