Paul George Can’t Wait for Knicks

For Paul George, the best of the west were no match for the beasts of the East, such as the New York Knicks.

The newly-minted Philadelphia 76er implied as much in the latest episode of his web series “Podcast P,” where he hosted new teammate Tyrese Maxey. Thrust into an Atlantic Division arms race, George talked about relishing the chance to battle the Eastern Conference’s finest, a group partly headlind by the surging Knicks, the hungry Sixers, and the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

“Being out west for the past seven years of my career to come back east, I think that alone excites me,” George said. “Boston is the team to beat. New York is an iconic place to play. I miss playing there twice within a season … so that alone is enough to just get you excited about what’s to come.”

“I’m just looking forward to those battles,” George continued. “I already know how the west was, right? The west was getting crazy. There’s so much parity out west now the east, it’s going to be a different battle. It’s a different gameplay, I feel like, out east than it is out west. So then just trying to establish our dominance, amongst two other dominant teams within the division, let alone the conference. So I’m just looking forward to that.”

George, 34, was the headlining acquisition of a Philadephia offseason that also saw them add Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Caleb Martin. The 76ers, already armed with 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid, also re-upped with Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. as they seek to avenge their loss to the Knicks in the opening round of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs.

For its part, New York traded for former Brooklyn Nets star and Philadelphia native Mikal Bridges, adding to its expansive Villanova Wildcat litter. Both the Knicks and 76ers, as well as a dozen Eastern Conference brothers, are chasing the Celtics, who earned their NBA record 18th championship last month.

Moving to Philadelphia marks a return to the Eastern Conference for George, who began his career with the Indiana Pacers in 2010. His time in Indianapolis included plenty of hard-fought battles with the Knicks, six alone coming during 2013’s conference semifinals. George led the Pacers with 19.5 points and 5.0 assists en route to a series victory that spoiled a 54-win season for the second-ranked Knicks.

More recently, George has spent the last seven seasons out west between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles, the latest five with the latter’s Clippers. Despite assembling a strong group of their own (with James Harden joining George, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook), the Clippers were booted from round one by eventual Western champion Dallas.

Both New York and Philadelphia are trying to erase some dubious Eastern history: the two teams respectively own the third (24 years) and fourth-longest active conference final appearance droughts in the NBA.

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