Paul George Admits NBA Pressure Got to Him: 'There's a Love Again for This Game' in Boston

An Honest Admission From a 17-Year Veteran

Paul George is not pretending the last few years did not hurt. In a wide-ranging interview with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, the 36-year-old forward — entering his 17th NBA season — spoke with striking candour about the weight of expectation that has followed him for most of his career, and about how a change of scenery has given him a fresh sense of purpose.

"I think guys would be lying if they say the pressure [doesn't impact them]," George said. "It does bother you at times. It does affect you at times. But you got to believe in yourself. That's where you really test your strength."

The nine-time All-Star added that survival at the top comes down to controlling the controllable: "Life has its ways of humbling you. It has its ways of teaching you. And if you're not prepared to be taught and take the lessons from those moments, then you won't prepare when it's time to really perform."

Two Years That Humbled Him

There has been no shortage of lessons lately. George's two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers were marked by injuries and frustration, and last season he served a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy — a sanction he has said related to a substance taken for a mental health issue. Over the past two years he has been limited to just 78 regular-season appearances, while criticism, particularly from former players, grew louder.

"It definitely humbled me the last two years, and it also just showed true colors," George told the Globe.

Yet he finished his Philadelphia chapter on a high note. After returning for the final stretch of the regular season, George helped the Sixers rally from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate none other than the Celtics in the first round, averaging 17.4 points while shooting 55 per cent from three in the series. Boston clearly took notice.

Why Boston Feels Different

In July the Celtics acquired George in a trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia — and according to George, the change of scenery has unlocked something that had been buried for years.

"This locker room, the culture here, the front office, the city, the organization, the tradition, all of that is something that I've never been a part of," George said. "Where everything is high quality. For me, it's refreshing. Hopefully, I can remain healthy. I think I became a journeyman along the way [of my career]. At this point, I would love to be able to call Boston home."

He went further, describing a genuine renewal: "I'm fully immersing myself into this organization with the guys. I'm ecstatic with being here, being around these guys, like they brought something else out of me that to be quite frank has been buried, and that's just a different passion. There's a love again for this game, and I just think everything is kind of just aligning at the right time for me here."

George has long called Celtics star Jayson Tatum a mentor, and Boston expects him to slot in as a complementary two-way piece next to him. The early signs have been encouraging: in his preseason debut he posted 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals in a 144-106 rout of the Sixers.

What Boston Paid — and Why It Was Worth It

The price was franchise-altering. The Celtics sent five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown — the 2024 Finals MVP, fresh off a career-best season of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game and a sixth-place finish in MVP voting — to their fiercest rivals, receiving George plus two first-round picks and two second-rounders in return. The draft haul, per ESPN's reporting, includes a 2028 first-rounder that can convert to a swap favoring Boston, an unprotected 2031 first, and second-round picks in 2028 and 2030.

Brown, 29, never asked out; his final game in green was Boston's Game 7 first-round loss to these same Sixers. With Jayson Tatum having missed most of last season recovering from Achilles surgery, Brown carried the Celtics — and the front office is betting that George's two-way game, plus the draft capital, outweighs losing a homegrown star entering his prime.

George, for his part, is the league's well-traveled veteran: Indiana (2010–17), Oklahoma City (2017–19), the Clippers (2019–24), Philadelphia. Boston is his fifth team — "I think I became a journeyman along the way," he admitted — and, he hopes, his last.

The Stakes for the Celtics

The Celtics open the regular season on the road against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, October 20, and the equation for their campaign is simple. A healthy, motivated George would give Boston a proven wing scorer and defender to support Tatum — and a player who, by his own admission, has rediscovered the joy that made him one of the league's most feared two-way forwards.

The past two years humbled him. If the Globe interview is any guide, the next chapter could yet define his legacy. "If you can overcome that and focus on what you can control," George said, "then you won't prepare when it's time to really perform" — and Boston is counting on exactly that.

The pedigree is undeniable: a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection, George is the rare veteran addition who arrives with something to prove rather than a legacy to protect. Boston is counting on him to stay healthy and available as the team looks to remain a contender in the Eastern Conference, and the early chemistry with Tatum suggests the fit could be seamless.