Philadelphia star forward Paul George hyperextended his left knee during the second quarter of the 76ers’ 104-89 preseason victory over the host Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
George was on defense, matching up with Atlanta forward Jalen Johnson, when his left leg bent. He subbed out with 8:09 remaining in the first half and never returned to the game, finishing with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in 12 minutes of action.
“Hopefully it’ll be OK so he’s back with us right away,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said after the game.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that George had a sleeve on his left knee in the locker room, was walking around and was “not too concerned” about the injury. He was set to get treatment later Monday night.
George, 34, made one of the biggest splashes in free agency this summer when he signed a four-year, $212 million contract with the Sixers after spending the past five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.
In 74 games (all starts) last season, George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He was also named an All-Star for the ninth time in his career.
George sports career averages of 20.8 points, 6.3 boards, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals, appearing in 867 games (819 starts) for the Indiana Pacers (2010-11 to 2016-17), Oklahoma City Thunder (2017-18 to 2018-19) and the Clippers (2019-20 to 2023-24).
Philadelphia has two more preseason games before opening the regular season against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 23.
