Paul George, Sixers discuss their resiliency in bounce back season

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers finished up the 2025-26 regular season with a record of 45-37 which is a huge 21-win improvement from the previous year. Of course, the 2024-25 season was ravaged by injuries that ruined any chance they had at contending, but the Sixers dealt with a lot of adversity in 2025-26.

The Sixers once again dealt with Joel Embiid being in and out of the lineup as well as Paul George dealing with his own injury recovery, and now, an appendectomy. It wasn't just George and Embiid, either. It was Tyrese Maxey missing time with a right finger tendon strain. It was Kelly Oubre Jr. missing time with various injuries and a slew of others.

Yet, the Sixers stayed afloat and they deserve a ton of credit for that heading into the play-in game as the No. 7 seed.

"I thought it was, you know, night and day when you compare it to last season to this season," said George after a season finale win over the Milwaukee Bucks. "For me personally, it was great to kind of be able to finish a season healthy—healthier than I started. So that's great. Obviously, I missed 25 games, so that was beneficial for my body, but to be able to finish a season healthier than you started the season is a huge win for me. Just excited for another postseason."

George finished the season strong as he returned from his 25-game suspension averaging 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.2 steals while shooting 41.5% from deep on high volume. The Sixers will need him to continue to play that well heading into the postseason, but it's good to see him playing at the high level Philadelphia was expecting when it brought him on a 4-year $212 million deal in the 2024 offseason.

Another player who missed a ton of time in 2024-25 was veteran big man Andre Drummond. The 14-year man out of UConn dealt with a slew of injuries in his first year back in Philadelphia and his absence was a reason that the Sixers never got off the ground.

"It wasn't as awful as last year," Drummond smiled. "So, we'll take that as a step up. Health was definitely a big thing for us last year. It was again for us again this year too, but we held out just enough to make it a good season for us. Paul's healthy. He looks great. Sad to see Jo go out, and obviously that's out of our control, but we have guys in this locker room that can help us win. So, we gotta focus on that."

The Sixers had a big bounce-back season in the first 82 games, and they deserve a ton of credit, but their work isn't finished. They now must head into the play-in tournament with the right mindset and handle business against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in the 7 vs. 8 matchup.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Paul George, Sixers discuss their resiliency in bounce back season