Philadelphia 76ers fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
It appearsnew star forward Paul George did not suffer any serious damage after hyper-extending his knee in Monday's pre-season game against the Atlanta Hawks.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday that George doesn't have any structural damage in his left knee and is dealing with a bone bruise. He will be re-evaluated in a week, Charania added.
“Everything checks out OK,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters Tuesday when asked about George's knee.
George attended Tuesday's practice and was scheduled for more tests later in the day.
Even before the injury, George was not scheduled to play in Wednesday's pre-season game against Brooklyn.
A nine-time All-Star, George was injured when his knee buckled on a defensive play in the second quarter of Monday's game against Atlanta. He scored eight points in 12 minutes in a 104-89 victory.
“I felt that it hyperextended, and immediately it was, all right, I need to get taken out and (looked at), but if you ask me, I’m not too concerned about it,” George told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Sixers have been cautious with their star players and shut down centre Joel Embiid on Sunday for the rest of the pre-season for what they called left knee management.
The Sixers — who signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract as a free agent this summer — are his fourth team, after seven years with Indiana, two with Oklahoma City and the last five as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s a six-time All-NBA selection and has averaged 20.8 points over 14 NBA seasons.
With George joining 2023 NBA MVP Embiid and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers were expected to boast one of the most formidable trios in the league as they try to put together a nucleus that can compete with NBA champion Boston.
George played 76 games last season, the first time he played more than 56 since 2018-19.
— With files from the Associated Press
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