"It's no excuse though" - Paul George admits pushing through nagging groin injury until 2024 NBA All-Star break
Paul George recently admitted that he has been playing through an injury and will continue to do so until the 2024 NBA All-Star break. Last January, George injured his left groin when they faced the Brooklyn Nets. Because the LA Clippers star opted to play through his injury, coach Ty Lue has put PG on minutes restrictions to avoid making his situation worse.
Paul George opened up about his groin injury on his podcast. He mentioned that it's been bothering him, however, that's no excuse for him to stop playing. George talked about his mindset of playing at his best no matter the cost. Now that the NBA is heading into the All-Star break, being available for his team is crucial, especially since the Playoffs are coming soon as well.
"It's no excuse though," George said. "If I'm on the court then I'm out there to play at my best. But my groin is sore. It's been sore, it's been bothering me. I've been trying to play through it knowing we got the All-Star break coming up. Let's go into the break playing as best as we can."
Paul George is heading to his ninth All-Star game
For the ninth time in his career, Paul George has been named an NBA All-Star. Honestly speaking, if not for George getting constantly hurt in previous seasons, we could argue that he would've been invited to 12 consecutive All-Star games.
Throughout the 2023-24 season, George has done his best to stay healthy or at least remain available for the LA Clippers. Despite suffering from a groin injury last month, PG never lost his rhythm and continued to put up performances worthy of being named an All-Star this season. Throughout the 48 games he played, George averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals.
On top of maintaining his star status, George has an opportunity to solidify his career with the illustrious NBA title this season. Since forming a superteam consisting of him, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook, the Clippers have taken the Western Conference by storm and are now sitting in second place in their conference.
The Clippers previously seemed like an NBA Play-In Tournament team, however, after finding their rhythm as an unstoppable unit, they now look like legitimate contenders. Looking at the current lineup, Paul George isn't the only All-Star on the team. Kawhi Leonard was also named to his sixth All-Star selection averaging 24.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.8 apg, and 1.7 spg.
George and Leonard also have two former All-Stars as their backup with James Harden and Russell Westbrook by their side, who are both putting up solid numbers. Harden is currently averaging 17.3 ppg, 8.5 apg, 5.1 rpg, and 1.2 spg. As for Westbrook, he's putting up 11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.6 apg, and 1.1 spg. Given the kind of figures all four Clippers players are adding, they now seem to be the favorites to win this year's NBA Finals.