NBA issues 76ers’ Paul George with 25-game ban for drug violation

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by By News AgenciesJanuary 31, 2026 at 06:22 PM

AI Summary

short article 2 min

Nine-time All-Star Paul George of the Philadelphia 76ers has been suspended for 25 games by the NBA for violating the league's Anti-Drug Program. The announcement was made on January 31, 2026, but the specific substance or nature of the violation was not disclosed. The suspension will cost George approximately $11.7 million of his $51.7 million salary. He is eligible to return on March 25 when the 76ers play the Chicago Bulls. This season, George has averaged 16 points in 27 games for Philadelphia, who are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-21.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Australian Open 2026 ×230% Chicago 35% Milwaukee 35% Tyrese Maxey 40% Joel Embiid 40% National Basketball Players Association 50% Philadelphia 76ers ×580% NBA ×485% Paul George ×595%

Keywords

nba 100% suspension 90% anti-drug policy violation 90% paul george 80% philadelphia 76ers 70% nba anti-drug program 60% salary 50% basketball 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.20

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Chicago

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

nba suspension anti-drug policy violation paul george philadelphia 76ers nba anti-drug program salary basketball

Explore Full Topic Graph