Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George underwent rotator cuff surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder on Tuesday, the team announced.
George initially suffered the injury to his right shoulder against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 26 and had been dealing with it off and on over the final two months of the season.
He pushed off surgery until the offseason to address the issue.
George is also expected to have a procedure to address a small labrum tear in his left shoulder in the coming weeks. The two injuries hampered George in the final weeks of the season.
While the Thunder did not provide an official timetable for George to return, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that George is expected to miss the start of training camp following the two procedures.
The start of training camp is typically at the end of September, which would be just under five months since George had his first procedure. The team has not set a definite date for his second shoulder surgery.
As NBA players in the past have shown, recovery time from shoulder surgery that severe can often take several months. Of course, most players have just one shoulder injury but George is dealing with two different injuries so his timetable may be a bit different than other players.
With George set to miss the next several months, we took a look at how other NBA players have recovered from rotator cuff surgery and how they performed once they did return.
Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs: July 2, 2014
Fresh off of a magnificent performance in the 2014 NBA Finals with the Spurs, Mills underwent surgery just as he was set to hit free agency that summer.
Much like George, Mills decided to play through the pain throughout the 2013-14 season and his decision to do so paid off for the Spurs as they would go on to win the NBA championship.
Mills initially received a 6-7 month window to return and would eventually return to the court on Dec. 28, 2014. In total, it took Mills nearly six months to return to play for the Spurs since the surgery.
In 51 games during the 2014-15 season, Mills averaged 6.9 points and 1.7 assists off of the bench with the Spurs. Since his injury, Mills has improved his production in nearly every season and hasn’t suffered any shoulder issues since.
Mills averaged 9.9 points this season in 82 games this season for the Spurs.
Cody Zeller, Charlotte Hornets: April 22, 2015
Zeller missed 19 out of the last 20 games for the Hornets during the 2014-15 season due to a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He underwent surgery on April 22, 2015.
Zeller recovered in time to play in the season opener for the Hornets on Oct. 28, 2015. He missed a few games during the 2015-16 season with shoulder soreness but still played in 73 games that year, averaging 8.7 points per game.
The six-year veteran has dealt with his fair share of injury concerns over the past two seasons, missing half of the Hornets’ games to be exact, but none of which have been due to his surgically-repaired shoulder.
Zeller averaged 10.1 points in 49 games this season for the Hornets. He is owed nearly $30 million over the next two seasons.
Tyler Johnson, Miami Heat: Feb. 3, 2016
Johnson dealt with a left shoulder injury throughout the 2015-16 season and eventually underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on Feb. 3, 2016.
He was initially set to miss just two months following the surgery but would return to play for the Heat in the second round of the NBA Playoffs on May 1, 2016.
Johnson apparently had been dealing with the issue since his college days at Fresno State and wanted to push it off until that offseason but was forced to deal with it during the season.
Once Johnson returned, he averaged 4.2 points and 1.6 assists in five games against the Toronto Raptors. The Heat eventually lost in Game 7 to the Raptors that year.
Johnson bounced back the following year and recorded a career-high 13.7 points, four rebounds and 3.2 assists in 73 games for the Heat during the 2016-17 season.
Johnson has since been traded to the Phoenix Suns.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: Jan. 28, 2015
Of course, Bryant is the most prominent NBA player to have endured rotator cuff surgery.
Bryant underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder on Jan. 28, 2015. He would miss roughly nine months and would return to play in the Lakers’ opener on Oct. 28, 2015, his final season in the NBA.
Bryant averaged 17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 66 games that season. As many may still remember, he dropped 60 points against the Utah Jazz in his final game in the NBA.
Bryant is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2020.
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As shown above, the recovery time for each may vary. The severity of the injury plays a factor in how quickly a player can return to the court but it appears as though George could be ready by the start of next season.
George suffered a partial tear in his right shoulder and will address a small tear in his left shoulder in the coming weeks. Recovering from two surgeries will be challenging but it doesn’t sound like George will miss too much time — if any at all.
The Thunder will certainly be hoping that is the case, anyway.
