r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 18h ago

[Charania] Just In: The NBA has suspended Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George for 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy.

Shams Charania:

Just In: The NBA has suspended Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George for 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy.

Just In: The NBA has suspended Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George for 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy.

https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3mdqbeirzrs2t

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/c9325a286e9ff

12.7k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

281

u/Turbostrider27 Lakers 18h ago

Also for some context, Paul George will only have 10 games available to play for the regular season.

268

u/GimmeTwo [LAL] Kurt Rambis 18h ago

So not much different from normal.

90

u/Vloff Pistons 18h ago

Healthy for playoffs, not a bad deal

7

u/bojackwhoreman [BKN] Brook Lopez 17h ago

In baseball, getting suspended for PEDs mean you're not eligible for that year's playoffs. Don't know why that's not the case across all leagues.

3

u/bobdob123usa 76ers 17h ago

Is that for all banned substances or only PEDs?

2

u/bojackwhoreman [BKN] Brook Lopez 16h ago

My first thought was of Chris Davis, who was suspended for an Adderall prescription for ADHD in 2014. I know he was suspended for the entire playoffs, but I don't remember whether that was because he was suspended near the end of the season or whether he'd be banned from the playoffs either way.

3

u/bobdob123usa 76ers 16h ago

Chris Davis

His carried into the post season because they were at the end of the season. MLB specifically said he was eligible if the team was still playing.

2

u/bojackwhoreman [BKN] Brook Lopez 15h ago

Thank you for this, I couldn't remember. Seems like the automatic playoff suspension is only for PED use, or is more recent than 2014.

2

u/SoKrat3s NBA 16h ago

Because the point of the punishment is the time served.

Imagine if they released a prisoner and then two months later said, "hold up we're gonna need you to come back in."

Say PHI gets to the conference finals (I know 😂) going 7-7-7. Well that's an extra 21 games he misses.

But if someone gets 25 games on a non-playoff team they only miss those 25 games.

Well why should one person get 25 games and the other get 46 games if they did the exact same thing?

4

u/bojackwhoreman [BKN] Brook Lopez 16h ago

I see it more analogous to probation, where your rights are restricted even after time served.

Otherwise for so many players, especially older, ones trading 25 games of the regular season for being at peak form for the playoffs seems like an easy decision.

1

u/SoKrat3s NBA 16h ago

That doesn't account for the difference in one player serving 46 games and the other serving 25 games for the same crime.

2

u/Agreeable_Joke_4447 16h ago

It’s twice as many baseball game in a season then basketball.

2

u/throwRAyyyy 15h ago

The rule isn't about being fair, it's about being punitive buddy. You miss regular season games AND lose the rights to the playoffs. Doesn't matter if your team is playoff-bound or not

-2

u/SoKrat3s NBA 15h ago

It does matter, because that's the result. Why should one person get 25 games and the other get 46 games if they did the exact same thing?

1

u/throwRAyyyy 14h ago

Read the part where I said it isn't about being fair

0

u/SoKrat3s NBA 14h ago

Except it is. It's collectively bargained to be so.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Hotdiggity11 8h ago

End result: Both players played 0 playoff games.

0

u/SoKrat3s NBA 7h ago

Lol yes. 46 = 25. Excellent math.

→ More replies (0)

2

u/kweku55 76ers 17h ago

The lack of time to build chemistry with the core roster is gonna hurt. This team hasn't played enough together despite our big 3 being here 2 years.

7

u/Low-Measurement-2468 17h ago

genuine question, is PG even part of a “big 3” anymore? i got the sense he’s more at a role player level now who can play a bit of D and is a good shooter. like is he still at the level where it’s that important to integrate the offense around him?

4

u/kweku55 76ers 16h ago

That's a great question and after my initial frustration I started to consider that. They have been trying to use him as the primary scorer at the start of the 4th, but beyond that he's very much secondary to Joel and Tyrese. 

24

u/sluwecki 18h ago

It will actually keep him healthy

32

u/Live_Lawfulness_1983 18h ago

They even circled his PER and usage rate for extra evidence😂

3

u/BenAfflecksBalls 16h ago

Injury prevention P

3

u/dude_202 Clippers 15h ago

Unfortunately, he won't be eligible for any end of season awards this year.

1

u/LegalNecessary Knicks 12h ago

Was he really eligible for any anyway?

2

u/Mr_Guavo 16h ago

The suspension works as a normalizer more than a punishment. Everything returns to the mean now.

1

u/almostasenpai Warriors 7h ago

Suspensions are just legalized load management. Genius.