How Good Was PRIME Chris Paul Actually?

when there's a discussion about the greatest point guards of all time Chris Paul's name rarely comes up and yet in terms of basketball skills no other point guard in NBA history checks as many boxes as CP3 orchestrating the offense and serving perfect passes check playing Elite all NBA level defense check scoring shooting efficiency insanely low amount of turnovers check check and check on top of being second all time in assists nine all defensive teams and 11 Allstar selections Chris Paul is a natural leader who elevated the play of his teammates wherever he played along with crazy work ethic and Jordan level competitiveness so why is CP3 not in the conversation for goat NBA point guards well it's because for the first 12 years of his career he never even made the Conference Finals then he lost the NBA Finals along with some other embarrassing playoff meltdowns but did those losses tarnish his legacy forever what and how good was Prime Chris Paul actually this is the story of Chris Paul's and how an undersized point guard became the point God Chris was born in 1985 in Winston Salem North Carolina and he was obsessed with sports he was quarterback in football and a point guard in basketball and when he wasn't playing Chris was repairing cars his grandfather had the first blackowned service station in North Carolina and Chris and his older brother grew up pumping gas rotating tires and changing oil his grandpa Nathaniel Jones called Papa Chile was a role model for Chris who taught him the meaning of hard work and Leadership my granddad was my best friend and Chris was a natural leader he was the class president in 10th 11th and 12th grade and this leadership and perseverance translated to the basketball court Chris was barely 5'1 when he started high school and he tried out for the basketball team while some of his friends made fun of him and teased him about his height his grandpa believed in him and told him to push through however because of his small stature CP only made the junior varsity team but that was a blessing in disguise as he was able to play 30 minutes a game and learn how to command the floor as a point guard and when he sprouted to 5'10 before his junior year Chris started dominating as he averaged 26 points and nine assists per game as a senior CP3 grew two more inches to his current height of 6 feet and nobody could deal with him anymore exceptionally quick strong and sturdy for his frame Paul played much taller than his height he averaged 31 points six rebounds 9 and 1 half assists and an insane six steals per game leading West foresight to a 27 and3 record and a trip to the regional finals Paul would receive letters to play at all the major universities but he decided to go to the nearby Wake Forest University largely due to the relationship he developed with their coach skip prer who was not afraid to challenge Paul Chris signed his letter of intent to join Wake Forest on November 14th 2002 but on November 5th 15th the Paul family suffered an immense tragedy while he was taking groceries out of his car several teenagers tried to Rob Chris's grandfather they beat him up and his body couldn't withstand the injuries and he died of a heart attack Papa Chili's death sent shock waves throughout the community and Chris was absolutely devastated to lose his role model angry that night I was angry and my family was angry a few days after the funeral CP3 school had a game and Chris demanded to play the otherwise pass happppy Paul wasn't looking to find his teammates for the first time in his career as his only mission was to reach 61 points one for every year of his Grandpa's life towards the end of the game CP hit a floater for his 61st point and got fouled which sent him to the free throw line he then intentionally missed the free throw avoiding the 602 point and then walked to the bench crying his eyes out this story made national headlines and Chris Paul became a known name scoring that 61 was one of the dopest things I feel like I've ever done at the end of his high school career this publicity helped him to get named North Carolina Mrbasketball CP3 also played in a McDonald's All-American game where he teamed up with LeBron James and finished with a game high 10 assists as a freshman at week Forest Paul immediately took the Reign Over the team despite being the only freshman getting significant minutes Chris averaged 14. 8 points 5. 9 assists and 2.

7 steals per game shooting 49% from the field and 47% from three setting School freshman records for three-point percentage free throws free throw percentage assists and steals behind his great play The Demon Deacons qualified for the NCAA tournament losing in the sweet 16 and then in a sophomore season Chris's numbers improved marginally two 15. 3 points 4. 5 rebounds and 6.

6 assists but in the final game of the regular season Chris showed his maniacal competitiveness and what kind of jerk he turns into when the game starts in the heat of the battle Paul punched the opposing guard Julius hodj in the groin for which he received a one-game suspension from the ACC tournament Paul's college teammate Justin Gray described him with the word genius but just like any genius he has a crazy side to him that obsessiveness that can bring out the worst of him and when the game starts he's ready for anything CP wanted to stay in college but when his agent told him that he would certainly be a top five pick and become a millionaire for the sake of his family and to achieve his ultimate goal Chris declared for the 2005 NBA draft the New Orleans Hornet select Chris Paul from Wake Forest University and even though there was some concern whether a 6-foot point guard could become a top-notch player CP3 killed those doubts quickly he averaged 16 points five rebounds eight assists and over two steals per game winning Western Conference rookie of the month in every month of the season and was just one vote shy of winning Rookie of the Year unanimously New Orleans improved from 18 wins in 2005 to 38 wins in 2006 which unfortunately still wasn't enough to make the playoffs in his sophomore season CP increased his averages to 17. 3 points and 8. 9 assists but due to him missing 18 games and injuries to other starters New Orleans missed the playoffs again but in Paul's third season there was no more denying him or the Hornets as they were called then CP led the league in assists with 11 points six and in steals with 2.

7 along with 21 points and four rebounds per game New Orleans won 56 games and finished second in the west which was and still is the best result in franchise history because of his great play and major improvement from his team CP finished second in MVP voting behind Kobe Bryant in his playoff debut against Dallas Paul scored 35 points and in the second game he notched a franchise record 17 assists as New Orleans took a two- lead the Mavs bounc back in game three but that was all they could do as nobody on the Dallas team could stop Paul from penetrating Into the Heart of their defense and doing whatever he wanted from there CP LED New Orleans to their first playoff series win in franchise history with 24 points 12 assists and two steals per game but in the second round awaited one of the toughest possible opponents the defending Champion San Antonio Spurs and even though he played against three future Hall of Famers Paul was the best player in the series he was the engine driving the entire offense hitting shots drawing fouls and delivering perfect passes in tight spaces defensively he was a major pest with quick hands and a great understanding of angles and because of his sturdy frame and low center of gravity it was impossible to post him up and move him out of position Paul LED all players in the series in points assists and steals pushing the Spurs to game seven but he couldn't get his team over the hump as San Antonio won 9182 despite 18 points 14 assists and five steals from Paul in the deciding game during the summer Paul was the starting point guard on the Team USA olympic Squad also known as the redeemed team CP led the team in assists and helped Team USA win the gold medal going 8-0 in the tournament and when the 2009 NBA season started Paul was better than ever he scored a career-high 22. 8 points per game shooting over 50% from the field and he once again led the league in assists with 11 and steals with 2. 8 Paul was in his fourth season and was at a point where the game slowed down for him significantly and that's when Superstars usually put up their best statistical Seasons even though he was never a scorer like Jordan Kobe or Lebron Chris's allaround Excellence couldn't be ignored and he finished fifth in the MVP voting and sixth in voting for Defensive Player of the Year Magic Johnson won three MVPs in his career and his averages in those three seasons were 23 points and 12 assists on 50% shooting which is almost identical to Paul's 2009 season with the exception that magic wasn't nearly as good a Defender as CP and the only thing missing for Paul to win the MVP was better teammates apart from David West the Hornets had very little Talent their bench was basically non-existent and without Paul the team would be deep in the lottery but with CP playing at an elite level on both ends of the Court they won 49 games in a stacked Western confer in the first round of the playoffs they faced the Denver Nuggets with Carmelo Anthony and chony bips and they stood no chance the Nuggets were a much more talented team especially offensively and New Orleans was out of the playoffs in five games in 2010 CP3 missed almost half the season due to a knee injury and the Hornets missed the playoffs are we going to see you back on the court you think as soon as possible you know doc said four to six week so I'm just trying to do my rehab as much as possible the next year Paul was healthy playing in 80 games averaging 16 points 10 assists and a league leading 2.

4 steals per game the Hornets made the playoffs as the seventh seed and had to face the defending Champion LA Lakers in the first round CP was playing out of his mind averaging 22 points 6. 7 rebounds and 11 1/2 assists on Ultra efficient 55% shooting and 47% for three but it still wasn't enough as the Lakers won the series in six games after that series it was clear that Paul was wasting a talent in New Orleans the Hornets were a mediocre team talented enough to make the playoffs but not able to do anything once they got there and because they were a playoff team they weren't getting high draft picks and since they weren't an attractive destination for free agents it meant they were stuck in mediocre purgatory and everyone knew it fearing that Paul would leave the team for free when he became a free agent the Hornets decided to trade him to at least get something in return and that brings us to the most controversial moment of Chris Paul's career which had nothing to do with him personally on December 8th 2011 Paul was traded to the LA Lakers forming a star studded backc court with Kobe Bryant the Rockets who entered this deal as the third team would receive Pal Gasol while the Hornets would get veteran forwards Lamar odm and Luis skola young guards Kevin Martin and Goran dragic and a 2012 firstr draft pick it was a win-win-win trade that looked great on paper for everybody but not everybody thought so see the Hornets were owned by the NBA who bought the team a year earlier so it wouldn't go bankrupt and fold and because of that all the final decisions surrounding the team were decided by the NBA commissioner David Stern while Chris Paul was at home packing his bags and celebrating that he'd be teaming up with Kobe commissioner David Stern booed the trade uh New Orleans decided not to make the trade everybody involved felt cheated especially Chris Paul however just 4 days later CP did get his trade to Los Angeles but it was to the Clippers who gave up Eric Gordon Chris Cayman alaroo aminu and a first round pick the irony was that the original trade offered a better package for New Orleans but the commissioner felt that the Hornets would be too good to yield a high draft pick and yet too bad to be a contender a very good transaction and better for the future of the Hornets see being mediocre was the worst place for an NBA team and Stern felt that it would lower the price for the upcoming sale of the franchise once again proving that the NBA is a business first and a sport second we're going to prove to you that we still love this game we hope you do too despite all that Stern in the NBA probably did Chris Paul a favor even though he and Kobe would certainly become the best backcourt in the NBA Bryant was 33 at the time and in the last few years of his Prime and without Pal Gasol and Lamar Odum who were a part of the trade CP would have very little help outside of the Aging Kobe but with the Clippers he had the most talented young forward in the NBA Blake Griffin and a defensive specialist DeAndre Jordan when the 2012 season started Paul led the Clippers fast-paced offense and because he had highflying finishers at The Rim he often threw spectacular alleyoop dunks to Griffin or Jordan which quickly earned the Clippers a new nickname Lob City Paul averaged 20 points nine assists and two and a half steals per game which once again led the NBA and finished third in the MVP voting behind LeBron Bron and KP CP then led the Clippers past the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs which marked just the third playoff series win in franchise history I command the Memphis Grizzlies I ain't worked that hard in my life but in the next round Paul's shot wasn't falling against the Spurs and San Antonio sobered the Clippers up quickly and painfully dominating all four games for a series sweep for the 2013 season the Clippers added Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes which helped them to win a franchise record 56 games in regular season CP averaged 17 and 10 led the league in steals for a third consecutive year and finished fourth in the MVP voting but in the playoffs another disappointment and another painful first round exit the griten grind Grizzlies were a better coached team and they won the series in six games despite an efficient 23 points and six assists per game for Paul after that Fiasco the Clippers fired Vinnie delnegro who was probably the worst coach in the NBA at the time and hired doc Rivers who brought in Championship expectations under Rivers DeAndre Jordan became a prominent starter averaging 35 minutes per game Blake developed as a playmaker and they were surrounded by Shooters in Crawford Barnes and the newly acquired JJ reic and Chris Paul was running the team like a conductor runs the orchestra surgically dissecting defenses in the pick and roll throwing lobs hitting Shooters with perfect chest passes and making countless mid-range jumpers from the right elbow aka the Cris Paul Zone and finally in his ninth season in the NBA after a series of badly constructed rosters CP had a team to contend for the championship the Clippers won 57 games and improved their franchise record finishing third in the west Paul averaged 19 per game he led the NBA in steals for the fourth time in a row and sixth time in seven years while also leading the league in assists for the third time but in the middle of their first round series against Golden State the Clippers went through the biggest scandal in franchise history with the owner Donald Sterling's leaked racist comments yeah it bothers me a lot that you want to Pro broadcast that you're associating with black people I'm not a racist I made a terrible terrible mistake after which the Clippers players considered boycotting game four of the series before the game Clippers staging a silent protest of sorts taking off their warm-ups the Clippers name and logo however despite the turmoil the Clippers decided to play Chris Paul had to dig deep to battle Steph Curry but after seven grueling games the Clippers emerged on top and then in the second round another tough opponent awaited KD and Westbrook Paul led the Clippers to a game one win against OKC the Thunder won the next two but CP countered in game four leading LA to Victory and tying the series and then in the deciding moments of game five Paul messed up everything committing two costly turnovers Away by and fouling Westbrook on a three-point attempt lead CP gave away the game as OKC escaped with a 105 104 victory in what was the biggest meltdown of Paul's career it's me everything that happened at the end is on me the Clippers had their chances in game six but they once again lost their cool in the clutch and the Thunder Advanced this series will be remembered for Paul's mistakes but overall he played a heck of a series averaging 22 points 12 assists and 2 and half half steals shooting 51% from the field and 45% for three but maybe the most impressive thing is that in the clutch moments he successfully guarded Kevin Durant Paul planted his body under KD denying him a space to dribble and it was impressive to see him battle a guy a whole foot taller and despite the tough loss the Clippers were still young and their core had room to grow in the 2015 season they won 56 Games CP averaged his usual numbers and led the NBA an assist for the fourth time and then in the first round of the playoffs against San Antonio he played probably the best series of his career Paul shot 54090 for the series averaging 23 points and eight assists but what was most important he showed up in the clutch in game seven with everything on the line he made the floater to win the series despite playing on a bad hamstring green on PA and good he got it 1 second left this finally seemed to be the year that the Clippers had put it all together especially after they took a 3 to1 lead against the rockets in the conference semifinals the Rockets won game five but in game six the Clippers had a 19point lead in the third quarter and a 12-point lead with 8 minutes to go it looked like the Clippers would finally advance to the first Conference Finals in franchise history and everybody was already getting their popcorn ready for the clash between the Clippers and the Warriors but then a complete meltdown and one of the biggest choke jobs in NBA history with James Harden on the bench the Rockets outscored the Clippers 40-5 in the fourth quarter as the Clippers shot an abysmal 4 for 22 in the fourth quarter the Clippers choked let's call it what it is this loss took the wind out of the Clippers who lost all confidence and went down in flames in game seven with another season down the drain in the next two seasons either Paul or Griffin got hurt in the playoffs and the team chemistry eroded fights became more frequent and it was clear that the Lob City Clippers wouldn't win the title in the 2018 season CP got traded to Houston where there was some legitimate skepticism about how he and James Harden would coexist but not only did they coexist they thrived at each moment Houston had at least one magician with the ball in their hands and when they played together they exchanged on ball duties like they had played together for a decade thanks to Harden's ball handling ability CP was better rested his three-point efficiency and volume went up and Houston won 65 games with Harden winning MVP most valuable player goes to James Harden the Houston Rockets for the first time Paul wasn't the first option and the best player on the team but also for the first time he finally made the Conference Finals and there awaited arguably the best team in NBA history the mighty Golden State Warriors with Kevin Durant the Splash Brothers Drymond and Iguodala however Houston was purposely built to battle this Warriors team and after five games they held a 3-2 lead with CP playing exceptionally well in the clutch of game five sealing the win for the Rockets unfortunately near the end of the game his hamstring gave out and that was it for Paul as he was ruled out for the series The Warriors won game six and then also game seven after the Rockets famously missed 27 three-pointers in a row the three arza for three for three play off shooting arza per game during the season it's hardly forced it three and it's for the 2019 season things didn't work out Paul and Harden's chemistry wasn't the same and they once again lost to the Warriors in the playoffs this time in six games after that it was clear that the Harden Paul partnership was coming to an end and CP3 got shipped to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook at the time Paul was 34 he was considered pastest prime a locker room cancer and the worst contract in the NBA everybody thought he would be rotting on a lottery team but CP showed the world why they called him Point God like he always did Paul elevated the play of his teammates serving as a mentor for sheay gilis Alexander he's been really cool playing with Shay cuz one of the biggest things from the younger generation as they come through the NBA you can't tell what hand they are and Against All Odds the thunder made the playoffs as a fifth seed in the Orlando bubble OKC played against Paul's former team the Rockets and Chris was giving Houston the business trying to show the Rockets they made a huge mistake CP played like a manp possessed especially in game six when he scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to extend the series and force a game seven and in the deciding game CP finished with a triple double of 19 points 11 rebounds and 12 assists but the Rockets escaped with a 104 102 Victory and after proving he was still an extremely dangerous player the Thunder were easily able to trade Paul to a contender which turned out to be the Phoenix Sons at the age of 35 CP3 was still a basketball genius and still at the very top of his game even though he had lost some of his athleticism he became a master of angles maximizing every possession and almost always making the right read and a correct basketball play Paul was one field goal and two m made threes away from shooting 50 4090 for the season and with averages of 16 points and nine assists he finished fifth in the MVP voting and for the first time Chris had some luck in the playoffs in the first round the Suns got past the Lakers after Anthony Davis got hurt and then he defeated the Nuggets without Jamal Murray Murray got hit and Murray's down and hurt oh my goodness and the Clippers without kawh Leonard he grabbed the right leg right away step there yeah he got a bump from Eng Les so in his 16th year in the league Chris Paul finally made the NBA Finals man it sound damn good and against Milwaukee things couldn't have started better Paul scored 32 points with nine assists to lead Phoenix to victory in game one for game two Drw holiday hounded CP3 the whole time but Chris still had 23 and 8 and the Suns had a two nothing lead but then Giannis scored 42 in game three and Middleton had 40 in game four to even the series in the pivotal game five Giannis made a crucial block on Aiden to steal the game and in the deciding game six The Greek Freak had 50 and the Bucks won the game leaving Paul ringless CP3 averaged 22 points and eight assists in the series shooting 55% from the field and 52% from three after the loss Paul said that he was addicted to playing in the finals and that he couldn't wait to get there again unfortunately for him that statement aged like milk as he never got close to the finals again in the 2022 season the Suns won 64 games and had the best record in the league while Paul led the NBA in assists and finished ninth in the MVP voting at the age of 37 but in the playoffs the Suns suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in NBA history after an even second round Series against Dallas where the home team won every game of the series the suns were ready to win game seven in front of their home fans and what happened next was was the biggest Fiasco ever seen in a deciding game as the Mavs blew them out by 33 points and at one point the lead was 46 and that game marked the end of Chris Paul's Prime which lasted for 17 years in that period he averaged 18. 1 points 9 and 1/2 assists 5 1/2 rebounds and 2.

1 steals per game shooting an efficient 47% from the field 37% for three and 87% from the Char stripe just like his Wake Forest predecessor Tim Duncan Chris Paul never took over games in the manner of Jordan Kobe and LeBron CP only has eight 40-point games in his career as it was never his style to outgun the opponent CP3 was playing basketball methodically efficiently and within a team concept like Timmy Paul was consistently good for so many years that it almost went unnoticed there were no flashy dunks no 50-point games no loud celebrations after play play but you could always count on his 18 10 and a couple steals making the right decisions hitting elbow midies and finding an open teammate similar to Steve Nash and John Stockton two pass first point guards who never won the title CP3 probably should have taken more shots and yes the point God will likely finish his career without a ring but aside from a couple playoff meltdowns Chris Paul has been clutch his entire life for half of his career he played on bad team teams and for the other half he had terrible luck with injuries he's arguably the best defender ever from the point guard position with nine all defensive teams and six times leading the league in steals which is an NBA record he had an insanely low number of turnovers at just 2. 3 for his whole career compared to Magic Johnson who had 3. 9 turnovers per game and Isaiah Thomas who average 3.