Sep 26, 2025; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers Paul George poses for a photo during media day. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
CAMDEN - "OK, P!" Joel Embiid yelled, spectating on the other side of the court.
Paul George caught the ball on the left block. His back was to the basket. It was the job of second-year wing Justin Edwards to stop him from scoring.
One-on-one, five seconds on the timer. You make it, you stay and the defender rotates off. You miss, you rotate off and the defender becomes the offensive player.
George pivoted toward the baseline and then pivoted back toward the middle of the floor and then quickly back to the baseline. The reverse pivot toward the lane created some separation between George and Edwards, and the veteran forward canned a midrange jumper with two seconds remaining on the timer.
It was a pretty moment for George on his first day of practice with the team.
There was some rust. He lost his dribble and had to retreat as Tyrese Maxey dug into a defensive stance and vacuumed up the floor while George retrieved the loose ball. He couldn't power through fouls to get shots off at times. Maxey slapped away one of his attempts at a jumper.
None of that matters if the Sixers can build on each day in the gym.
"[George] is progressing. They're still working out some things. He did do some of the stuff early in practice, as well, today for the first time," Nick Nurse told reporters at Thursday's practice.
"So that's also a progression. So we'll just keep on going."
To be clear, 'early stuff' is not five-on-five.
"With the team, though. More like five-on-zero stuff. But it's been the first time for that, so there'll be boxes to check to keep it going," Nurse explained.
The head coach wouldn't rule out the possibility of George playing in the preseason. He just couldn't make a firm statement in either direction because he simply doesn't know.
"This was a step in the right direction, and we'll see how fast it comes along," he said.
The arrow is apparently pointing upward for Embiid, too.
"He's been in a lot of live action over the last seven to 10 days," Nurse offered.
So where exactly does the big guy stand?
"I just think he has to get to a point where they're happy with the amount of load he can take and the recovery part, as well, on top of it and keep progressing that way," Nurse said.
"I'm sure there's strength issues and all that kind of stuff, just to make sure that it's responding to everything well. But he did do five-on-five. So, again, progressing, keep going."
Right now, progress looks like stacking days. Embiid played five-on-five on Wednesday. He followed that up with five-on-zero work and other 'early stuff' in practice on Thursday.
It is detrimental to Nurse to try to act as the public-facing doctor for all things concerning Embiid's knee. He works with the statuses he receives from the medical team.
For now, all he can do is recount what he's seen of this mystery, like a counselor telling campers scary stories around a night-time fire.
"He's looked good. I think you guys have seen him enough to know that he's slimmer and he's moving good. He has played pretty well in the practices."
Nurse went on to extend Embiid some grace, suggesting that he has room to get better. "I think, like with a lot of these guys, this is still preseason and it's not a ton of practices yet," he said.
"But, again, I see things moving in the right direction."
This isn't Nurse's first rodeo. He's the first to admit that having everyone available all the time is the best way to build and add to what you have in place. But he's certainly not resting on the excuse that his focal points are anything but consistently available.
"We've spent a lot of time and made a lot of progress offensively with and without them. That's what we're trying to do. We're just trying to be able to merge those things whenever we can," the head coach said.
"Whenever we can't, we got to do the other things we've been working on. So we'll just keep doing that."
