Sixers fans react to a wild week that ended with Paul George’s 25-game suspension

"That's the Sixers for you," said 23-year-old Robert Phillips when he found out the news that Paul George was suspended for 25 games.

Sixers fans had lots to say in the aftermath of Paul George's 25-game suspension on the same day the team honored the 25th anniversary of their NBA Finals run. Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Ariel Simpson

Published Jan. 31, 2026, 9:56 p.m. ET

Sixers fans have had a lot to celebrate over the last few weeks, whether it was Tyrese Maxey’s second All-Star nod, VJ Edgecombe’s Rising Star selection, or their backcourt duo gracing the cover of SLAM magazine.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” said 32-year-old Ruben Rivera. “There [are] good things to look forward to as a Sixers fan.”

However, that all changed on Saturday morning when the team suffered a significant blow. The NBA announced that nine-time All-Star Paul George would be suspended 25 games without pay for violating the NBA and National Basketball Players Association anti-drug program.

For some fans, this came as a complete surprise.

“So, somebody sent me a meme,” said 40-year-old West Philly native Hoag Davis. “And I thought it was a joke. That’s crazy to me. It was right when I thought the Sixers were about to get it together.”

But for other fans, including Robert Phillips, 23, and Xavien Phillips, 20, this felt like a common Philly occurrence.

“That’s the Sixers for you,” Robert said. “We pick up a little traction and we’re doing our thing and something always bad happens to us. We have some sort of bad luck. But, we’re going to pursue through it. That’s how we is. Maxey’s hooping. Embiid’s hooping. The whole team is hooping. So, we should be good.”

Xavien added: “It’s always something.”

That was a common feeling for Philly sports fans who made their way to the Xfinity Mobile Arena to catch Saturday’s game against the Pelicans, especially with George coming off a big game less than a week ago which saw him finish the night with 32 points.

“I mean, it felt like man just one more thing, just as the team’s getting healthy, just as they’re starting to roll,” said 36-year-old Ishmael Amir. “You have Paul George have a big game the other day. So, your hopes are getting high and then you get this news out of the blue. But you get over it. We’ve got the young talent. We’ve got Maxey, who’s an All-Star. We’ve got VJ [Edgecombe]. We’ve got Embiid looking healthy. It’s only 25 games. It gives PG enough time to rest to get fully healthy for a postseason run, so it’s unfortunate, but we’re gonna be back.”

George sat out of Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Sixers heading into the game with the Eastern Conference’s sixth-best record. Although Amir believes the 25 games gives George enough time to heal, others believes it’s enough time to negatively impact the season.

“I think it will impact the season from maybe a three-seed to a six-seed,” Rivera said. “It will hurt. There’s no denying. But, we got to be optimistic. If Embiid keeps balling, we’re going to be alright. We still got Maxey. We got to be optimistic.”

Heading into Saturday’s game George was averaging 16 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 27 games. The forward won’t be eligible to play until March 25 in the Sixers game against the Chicago Bulls at Xfinity Mobile Arena.