With his contract decision and free agency signing in late June, Paul George will officially be leaving the LA Clippers and joining the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2024-25 NBA season. In doing so, he will finally be back in the Eastern Conference that he played the first seven seasons of his career in.
George's Indiana Pacers were a significant force in the East from 2011 all the way until his departure in 2017. But while he was there, his teams always ran into tougher competition that prevented them from their ultimate goal of reaching the NBA Finals. Now, PG will be joining a juggernaut Sixers team featuring 2023 MVP Joel Embiid and one of the best point guards in the East in Tyrese Maxey.
However, he still may run into a similar problem as the one he was faced with in his first Eastern Conference stint with multiple more capable teams around him. Do not tell that to Paul, however, as he seems to be as excited as ever to be back where he is.
Playing in the East is exciting for Paul George
"I think that alone excites me," George said, referring to playing in the East once again. "And then just the competition, you know what I mean? Obviously Boston is the team to beat. New York is an iconic place to play. I miss playing there twice within a season. And so that alone is enough to just get you excited about what's to come."
Paul's excitement is understandable, but he may want to be careful about being so excited to take on the two top teams from the Eastern Conference. The Knicks post-deadline this past season were an extremely tough group, and not only were the Celtics the best team in basketball and the champions, but Boston has had Philly's number specifically for at least the last decade.
"Being out East now, I'm just looking forward to those battles," said George. "I already know how the West was, right? The West was getting crazy. There's so much parity out West now. The East, it is going to be a different battle. It's a different gameplay I feel like out East than it is out West."
There may be another interpretation here, but it would appear Paul is saying the East is a bit easier to play in than the West. While I do not believe he is wrong and most observers would likely agree about the strength of the conferences, it may not be wise to be putting this out there like he is. This is bulletin board material that the 76ers' foes can use for extra motivation this coming season.