Paul George after his 38-point Celtics debut: ‘I’m not a moral victory guy’

Paul George scored more points in his first game for the Boston Celtics than any player in franchise history. He did not want to hear about it afterward.

George finished with 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting, made 7 of his 12 three-pointers and added five steals in about 31 minutes on Tuesday in Detroit. The Detroit Pistons still came back from 22 points down to win the NBA’s season opener 121-113.

“Felt great. Felt great competing with these guys,” George said. “Just been speaking about being healthy and feeling like myself in my body again. Try to give everything, but ended up short.”

“Just the journey to get here, a lot to be proud of,” he added, “but I’m not a moral victory guy, so it means nothing. We lost.”

Asked Paul George when the last time was that he felt this healthy:

“My stint in LA. I was pretty healthy to finish my last year there, and then honestly, going to Philly, I just had a bad hyperextension that really set me back, and I couldn't quite shake that one — it was an… pic.twitter.com/6jqmbROmSm

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 20, 2026

The video above was posted by Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell.

‘I couldn’t quite shake that one’

George, 36 and in his 17th season, came to Boston in July in the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics also got two first-round picks and two second-round picks. His two seasons in Philadelphia were the hardest of his career. He averaged 16.7 points there, had knee surgery in the summer of 2025, missed the first 12 games of last season and later served a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program.

Asked when he last felt this healthy, George went back to his final season with the Clippers. “My stint in L.A. I was pretty healthy to finish my last year there,” he said. “And then honestly, going to Philly, I just had a bad hyperextension that really set me back, and I couldn’t quite shake that one. It was an ongoing thing of my leg, my knee not feeling strong, and it was rough, right? Because I was trying to rest, but I was also trying to be available for the team, and just couldn’t quite find the time to let it all come together. So, here, feeling a lot better.”

He said the difference this year was what he got to do in the offseason. “The last two years were very difficult, trying to play through injuries and just not quite being 100 percent,” George said. “This summer was huge. I had a great summer, had time off.” He said he was happy he could spend it “working on my game more so than rehab and working on my body.”

Heavy legs in camp

George’s preseason did not look like this. He said training camp was hard on two fronts. “It’s been a rough camp for me, I would say, just trying to figure out new concepts, new terms, new plays, playing off other guys,” he said. “Really the camp legs were just heavy. I was winded a lot of times.”

“But I’m getting my wind back. I’m getting my legs back. I feel like I’m getting my pop back,” he said. “And so that was kind of the difference maker.”

He credited his new teammates for keeping him involved through camp. “They did an amazing job keeping me in the loop, making me feel a part of the team at all points throughout this process,” he said, naming coach Joe Mazzulla, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics’ big men for “freeing me up.”

White said Boston did not run plays just to get George going. “Sometimes it happens through the flow of our offense,” White said. “He’s an IQ player who knows where to find his spots. Anytime anybody got to going like that, you got to try to find them and keep it going.”

How the lead got away

George hit three three-pointers in less than a minute early in the third quarter to push Boston ahead 72-50. Detroit outscored the Celtics 76-55 after halftime. Javonte Green, who did not play in the first half, scored 19 points, and Duncan Robinson hit a three that put the Pistons up 107-99 with 5:10 left. Cade Cunningham had 22 points and eight assists, and Jalen Duren had 22 points and nine rebounds.

Jayson Tatum, in his first full season since tearing his right Achilles tendon in May 2025, made 6 of 23 shots for 13 points and had 11 assists. White and Pritchard each scored 17.

“I just thought they played Detroit basketball. They’re a gritty team, they play hard, they play tough,” George said. “They changed the personnel out a little bit, and I thought their energy guys made a huge impact.” He said the Celtics lost on the little things: “the extra rebounds, just getting quality shots, taking care of the ball.”

“Being up 21 or whatever we were, not to say this would have been an easy matchup, but if we’re in the driver’s seat like that, we’ll learn how to close those kind of games,” he said.

He also made clear he does not expect every night to go like this one. “It’s still an ongoing process. Funny thing about this game, there’s good days, there’s bad days,” George said. “I won’t get too high on this. It’s a long season. There’s gonna be a day where I struggle and I’ll have to get through that.”

The Celtics host the New York Knicks on Friday.