Paul George’s 38-point Celtics debut in numbers: a franchise record, the 5th-best team debut ever and his best night in years

Paul George scored 38 points in his first game for the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, the most any player has scored in a Celtics debut. The 121-113 loss in Detroit took the shine off the night, but the box score holds up as one of the best team debuts in NBA history, and it moved George up two career leaderboards.

Here is what the numbers say about the night, from the shot chart to the record books.

The stat line

• Points: 38 in 30 minutes 35 seconds, about 1.24 points per minute
• Field goals: 12-for-21 (57.1%). Three-pointers: 7-for-12 (58.3%). Free throws: 7-for-8
• True shooting: 77.5%, on 21 shots and eight free throws
• Also: 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals, 3 turnovers, plus-9 in a game Boston lost by eight
• Share of offense: 38 of Boston’s 113 points (33.6%). Derrick White and Payton Pritchard were next with 17 each

The rest of the Celtics shot 28-for-67 (41.8%) and 10-for-30 from three. Jayson Tatum went 6-for-23 and 0-for-7 from deep, though he did finish with 11 assists, and three of those set up George baskets.

How the 38 came

Quarter	Points	Running total	Key moment
1st	5	5	A 26-foot three on his first shot
2nd	12	17	Back-to-back threes in 22 seconds late in the half
3rd	14	31	Three straight threes in 52 seconds put Boston up 72-50
4th	7	38	A 26-footer with 1:06 left, after Detroit’s run had decided the game

George had 31 points through three quarters, which was already more than any Celtic had ever scored in a debut. All 14 of his third-quarter points came in the first 5:30 of the half, and Boston led by as many as 22. After that he scored only once before the final 2:02, a layup 12 seconds into the fourth quarter. Then came Detroit’s 23-0 run, which turned a 99-89 Boston lead into a 112-99 deficit. George’s pass to White for a floater finally ended it with 3:18 left.

A new Celtics debut record

The previous franchise record belonged to Kristaps Porziņģis, who scored 30 in his first game for Boston in October 2023. George passed it with a full quarter to play. Across the league, ESPN research lists only four players who scored more in their first game for a new team:

Player	Team	Season	Points
Kyrie Irving	Brooklyn Nets	2019-20	50
Kiki Vandeweghe	Portland Trail Blazers	1984-85	47
Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors (NBA debut)	1959-60	43
Damian Lillard	Milwaukee Bucks	2023-24	39
Paul George	Boston Celtics	2026-27	38

The Celtics said George is the sixth player in NBA history to post at least 38 points, five rebounds, five steals and seven threes in one game, and the league noted he is the first since steals were first tracked in 1973-74 to post 35 points and five steals in his first game with a new team.

His best night in more than two years

Basketball-Reference game logs show how rare this kind of game had become for George. In two regular seasons with Philadelphia, he played 78 games, averaged 16.2 and 17.3 points, and reached 30 points six times. Only once did he score more than 38: a 39-point game against Washington on April 1, 2026. In 11 playoff games last spring, he never reached 25 points.

Date	Team	Opponent	Points	3PM
Oct. 20, 2026	BOS	at DET	38	7
April 1, 2026	PHI	vs. WAS	39	6
April 7, 2024	LAC	vs. CLE	39	3
March 31, 2024	LAC	vs. CHA	41	8
Jan. 16, 2024	LAC	vs. OKC	38	6

The table shows every game of 38 or more points he has had since the start of 2023-24, playoffs included. The five steals also stand out: since the start of the 2022-23 season, the only other game in which he scored at least 30 points with five or more steals was a 35-point, six-steal night against Houston on Oct. 31, 2022. And he did all of this at 36 years old, in his 17th NBA season.

Paul George 38 PTS, 12/21 FG, 7/8 FT vs Pistons

The most points ever by a Celtic in his team debut. pic.twitter.com/SHYuvYxxUn

— Every Bucket (@EveryBucketNBA) October 20, 2026

Video: Every Bucket / X.

Moving up the career lists

The second of his seven threes moved George past Kyle Korver (2,450) into eighth place on the NBA’s career list for three-pointers made. He now has 2,456, and the next name above him is Reggie Miller at 2,560, which leaves George 104 threes away from seventh place. LeBron James is sixth with 2,636.

The night also brought him to 19,376 career regular-season points, 624 short of 20,000. At the 17.3 points per game he averaged last season, that would take him about 36 games, which would put the milestone around mid-season if he stays healthy.

His second game in green will show whether Tuesday was the start of something or a one-night burst. Either way, the record is his: no Celtic before him had scored even 31 in a first game for the franchise.