"Question alone can derail their championship hopes": Fans react to Paul George's reluctant response on last shot choice between him and Joel Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers new recruit Paul George was put in a tough position by OKC Thunder star Chet Holmgren. In the latest episode of "Podcast P with Paul George," Holmgren asked the former Clippers star who would take the last shot between him and Joel Embiid.

George was momentarily speechless before eventually suggesting that the question should be directed to the 76ers coach.

"That’s a Nick Nurse question," said George.

"I’m gonna deflect that to Nick Nurse. Whoever Nick Nurse draws it up for, we’re gonna get the best shot. I've dealt with that, you know what I mean? I've been on teams with other superstars and we live and die with whoever takes it." he added.

Fans reacted to the nine-time NBA All-Star's response, with many 76ers supporters surprised that rising superstar Tyrese Maxey wasn't mentioned as one of the options.

"It’s Maxey and I don’t even think it’s close," a fan wrote.

"It’s funny bc it’s Maxey and this question alone can derail their championship hopes," commented another fan.

"Should be Maxey. PG is the streakiest star to ever live and Embiid might just foul bait the last shot," another X user opined.

One of the fans asserted that it was a no-brainer question.

"I’m ngl he can walk his happy ass back to LA if he even has to hesitate with this question. Jfc."

A couple of fans suggested that the matchups should determine which player takes the final shot.

"Depends on matchups and who has the hot hand, between the two, feels like Maxey should get a decent amount of late game touches so it could be him too," a fan said.

"Depends on the match up and situation or who might be having it going at the time," commented another fan.

Paul George vs Joel Embiid vs Tyrese Maxey in clutch time

Paul George inked a whopping four year, $212 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency after the conclusion of the 2023-23 NBA season. George, still in pursuit of his first NBA title, will play with one of the world's best players, Joel Embiid, and one of the top young stars, Tyrese Maxey.

Reflecting on their clutch performance last season, Maxey logged the most minutes in close games. The one-time All-Star played 107.1 minutes in clutch and helped the 76ers to 16-12 record in those games. The 23-year-old shot 7-of-23 from beyond the arc and recorded a True Shooting (TS) percentage of 50.3% on 71 field goal attempts.

George played 98.3 clutch minutes and helped the LA Clippers to 20-12 record in those games. The perennial All-Star recorded 71.6% TS in 39 field goal attempts in clutch and shot 8-of-20 from the 3-point range.

Embiid played 38.0 clutch minutes and helped the 76ers to a 7-5 record in those game. The center recorded 57.9% TS on 30 field goal attempts and shot 1-of-8 from downtown.