While gearing up for the upcoming NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers recently faced a major shock. In their latest preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, Paul George , the team's newest signing, suffered a knee injury.
Given the timing of this injury, George's injury-riddled history, and his advanced age, the situation doesn't look too promising. Medical expert Dr. Brian Sutterer echoes this concern, discussing PG's injury in a recent YouTube video.
"On the broadcast, they didn't even say anything about it. I went back and watched; there was no mention of Paul George leaving the game after this happened. We just saw he wasn't returning for the second half. There was no other replay, but I mean, this could turn out to be a pretty serious injury," remarked Sutterer.
How PG's injury unfolded
The incident occurred in the second quarter while George was defending against Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, who was attacking the Sixers' superstar. As Sutterer noted, in this situation, PG initially began "backpedaling" and then extended his left leg, putting weight on it.
At the same time, the 2019 steals leader was intensely focused on the ball, which led him to lose "track of where his left leg is in space." In a split second, the unfortunate incident happened — Paul's left leg buckled at an awkward angle.
After the injury, PG was substituted and did not return to the game. The word now is that the NBA vet has a "hyperextended knee." However, Sutterer clarified that this is not a full diagnosis.
"You can hyperextend your wrist, your elbow, your fingers—in this case, the knee—but this doesn't actually tell us what the injuries are," he noted.
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What Sixers fans need to know
George, who just signed a lucrative four-year contract with the 76ers this offseason, has only played his second preseason game for the team. Understandably, Philly fans are now filled with anxiety. Yet, the YouTube doctor has advised against jumping to positive or negative conclusions.
To back up his point, he referenced a similar injury that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered during the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals , which, ironically, was also against the Hawks. At first glance, Giannis's knee hyperextension appeared serious, but it ultimately didn't turn out to be anything.
By bringing up this reference case, Sutterer highlighted that the results of such incidents are often very hard to predict just by observation. At this point, the sports medicine specialist has one crucial piece of advice: crossing your fingers that the final diagnosis isn't an ACL or PCL tear. Such an injury could mean a long time on the sidelines for the nine-time All-Star.
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