Paul George challenges 76ers fans to be as critical as possible toward him: ‘I’m looking forward to that’

Star forward Paul George recently hinted at the idea that he will welcome criticism from Philadelphia 76ers fans.

After a five-season stint with the Los Angeles Clippers, George agreed to a four-year deal with the 76ers earlier this offseason. A trio of George, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid projects to be one of the top threesomes in the league on paper in the new season.

In his swan song as a member of the Clippers alongside Kawhi Leonard, George averaged 22.6 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range. He also earned the ninth All-Star bid of his NBA career.

George will try to help Philadelphia shake its recent playoff woes. The 76ers have been one of the better regular-season teams in the Eastern Conference since the dawn of the decade, as the squad has won 47-plus regular-season games in four straight seasons.

However, Philadelphia doesn’t have so much as an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals to show for its regular-season success during that stretch.

Arguably the closest that the 76ers have come to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since the start of the decade came in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Philadelphia held a 3-2 series lead in its second-round matchup against the Boston Celtics but proceeded to drop the last two games of the best-of-seven series.

The 76ers also came within a win of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, but they fell in seven games to the Atlanta Hawks.

Meanwhile, George didn’t exactly experience the type of playoff success he was hoping for during his stint with the Clippers, as L.A.’s star-studded roster was never able to reach the NBA Finals.

Perhaps the addition of George will be enough for the 76ers to finally advance past the second round of the playoffs in 2025. A deep postseason run would have to feel good for both George and the 76ers given their recent playoff track records.