‘Playoff P or Pandemic P?’ Since 2020, Paul George’s on-court performance has had fans designate a different nickname for him. Before his first playoff series as a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the renowned small forward self-christened himself with the ‘Playoff P’ nickname. However, during his tenure with the Clippers, George recorded career playoff lows and blew a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets during the playoffs that took place in the NBA bubble. In light of this, his critics altered the self-given nickname as a way to take a dig. With the player once again facing a low point in his NBA career, is his infamous nickname making a comeback?

If one is to believe a prominent social media page, then even the big brands are not sparing Paul George. According to NBA Centel, Nike recently put up a billboard of Paul George in his Philadelphia 76ers jersey. The black-and-white picture carried a caption that read “Mr 212. Pandemic P.” The fact that a brand with whom George has shared a long partnership with would use the nickname would be nothing short of a ‘bombshell news.’

For anyone who got excited at seeing the picture, note that the update was put out by ‘NBA Centel’. The page publicizes itself as a parody account of ‘NBA Central’. It often puts out fake news that takes a dig at a current player, team, or trending news story. From ‘revealing’ that Larsa Pippen may be looking to date Bronny James next to ‘indicating’ that Draymond Green enjoyed the LeBron James x Hennessy brand drink and wrote ‘king inside me’, spreading fake stories is their niche. The phrase ‘You got Centel’d’ has become common for any first-timer, who got fooled into believing that the story put out by them was true, to be received. Therefore, if you got ‘Centel’d’, there is nothing to feel bad about. Many have gone through what you did.

On top of everything, no other news source has verified the validity of the ‘billboard’. Therefore, it is safe to presume that Nike did not take a dig at their signed player. Yet. And why would they? George is an important part of their brand. After all, he has been with them since the player’s rookie season back in 2010. Along with promoting Kobe Bryant’s signature line, Paul George has also worn his signature line of shoes, launched back in 2017. The line was discontinued last year. Despite this, the 76ers star continued to stay with the brand. After all, Nike reportedly made plans to issue retro releases of his earlier basketball shoes.

The NBA Centel has now chosen to make Paul George their latest target. Given his precarious position, NBA enthusiasts won’t have to think long over the reason for too long.

Why did ‘NBA Centel’ choose to put the ‘update’ about Paul George?

When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired him, many hoped that the small forward would work alongside Joel Embiid to create a new partnership. However, due to injury management, Embiid was out for the first 9 games of the ongoing regular season. Therefore, it became Paul George’s responsibility to carry the offensive front with his new roster. As it turned out, the 76ers and fans may have been better off by not placing too much hope on him.

Paul George himself had to miss the 76ers season opener due to a knee injury. Out of the 14 games that the franchise has played till now, George himself has only played in 8. Even in them, he has averaged 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. This was a steep drop, as the player hadn’t gone below 20 with his averages since the 2014-15 season. Recently, doctors diagnosed George with a bone bruise after he sustained a left knee hyperextension during the 76ers-Grizzlies game. As a result, he will miss out on 2 games.

Both George and Embiid, not being constant with their appearances, may have played a role in the Philadelphia 76ers’ current 2-12 record. Therefore, if there was ever a time for ‘Pandemic P’ to make a reappearance, it was now.