Last week, NBA fans passed around a statistic online that truly put the Paul George experience with the Philadelphia 76ers into perspective.
Since signing with the Sixers on a four-year, maximum free agent contract on July 7 last year, George has more videos posted to the YouTube channel for Podcast P than total field goals made. That sounds unbelievable, but it’s simply the reality for an aging player who rode the athlete podcast wave.
Discussing George’s career-worst season and continuing digital media career on The Bill Simmons Podcast over the weekend, Ryen Russillo questioned whether George shouldn’t put the mic away for a month or two while Philadelphia’s season comes to a merciful end.
“He is incredibly disappointing,” Russillo said. “He’s so bad right now that I can’t even believe he’s doing podcasts.”
George is having his worst season in a decade, shooting 43 percent from the field and scoring just 16.1 points per game. The Sixers, who came into October regarded by many as the winners of the offseason, have cratered. A team with title aspirations sits at 20-36, with reports suggesting they may soon shut down franchise center Joel Embiid.
With all that circling George, Russillo thinks it might be better to just press pause on the show rather than ignoring the massive elephant in the room.
“I would just be so embarrassed. Obviously that’s not going to happen, but I would be embarrassed being a dude who comes in with a four-year max (contract) and [it’s] like, ‘we need you to be the guy with all this Embiid stuff,'” Russillo said. “Even if he’s older and all this different stuff, Year 1, this is what it looks like?
At its best, Podcast P is among the more transparent athlete-hosted shows of the bunch. During his Clippers days, George gave fans unique insight into working around Kawhi Leonard’s unfortunate recurring knee injuries. After a run-in with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s postseason coverage over Leonard’s health, George used Podcast P to further defend his teammates and give the audience a taste of what it was like being on set in that moment. And early this season, George brought Sixers teammate Reggie Jackson onto the podcast to discuss leaked reports of a team meeting among Philly players and accusations toward Embiid.
Active athletes have to walk a line with what they share. But in the most recent episode of Podcast P, George weighed in on Luka Doncic’s fit in L.A., 2025 NBA Draft prospects, and Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show.
Taking a break would probably make Paul George look even worse than his performance this season has, but at a certain point fans have to be getting tired of the distractions. If George can’t deliver on providing insight into his life and career, then why do the podcast at all?
