Chris Paul wore a Golden State Warriors jersey last season after years of having Playoff runs end at their hands, hoping the team-up will help both franchise and player return to the mountaintop. That didn’t end up happening as Paul primarily played a bench role on a franchise that wound up missing the Playoffs.
Paul was speaking to Tony Parker on the Spurs YouTube channel and was asked by the four-time champion to explain why he joined a rebuilding project like the Spurs instead of going to a contender. Paul explained he did it to maximize playing time after a bad year with the Warriors.
“Last year was probably one of the toughest years for me. You know more than anything, I just love to hoop. I wanna play.”
“And then for me, Jada and the kids they stay in LA. You know with your two kids now, If I’m gonna sacrifice my family and be away from them, then I at least need to be playing. Nobody’s guaranteed the win, only one team’s going to win. I think for me, I looked and I realized that I can go hoop, I can go play.”
CP3 on why he chose to play for the Spurs this season:
“Last year was probably one of the toughest years for me. I just love to hoop. I wanna play. If I’m gonna sacrifice my family and be away from them, then I at least need to be playing.”
(Via Spurs YouTube) pic.twitter.com/wk2KQHf7Xl
— CP3REGION (@cp3region) December 12, 2024
Paul averaged 9.2 points and 6.8 assists for the Warriors in 58 appearances. He started 18 games and averaged 26.4 minutes per game last season where he was also plagued with minor injuries.
This season, Paul is averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 assists in 28.9 minutes per game, starting all of the 24 games the Spurs have played so far. He’s yet to miss a game and has a much more defined on-ball role as the half-court initiator for the young offense headlined by Victor Wembanyama.
Paul had hinted at this sentiment while speaking to ESPN before the season, naming consistent playing time and the presence of Wembanyama as the main reasons he chose the Spurs.
“I love nothing more than the opportunity to play and contribute and hoop. My family is everything. My wife is here, my kids are back in L.A., and that’s where they will be during the season. And I love basketball so much that I could be close to home, but if I’m not playing, I’m not happy.”
“There’s no player in the league that everybody talks about [more] after the game,” said Paul on Wembanyama. “Me and Harrison [Barnes] were on our flight talking about how cool it’s going to be at this point in our careers to get a chance to appreciate him day in and out.”
The Warriors have never really needed a half-court playmaker who is orchestrating the offense because they rely on their motion offense to keep the ball moving and find the right players. They struggled in past seasons with having a consistent bench offense, something they hoped Paul as a sixth man could change.
The stylistic differences meant Paul had a quiet year with the Warriors where his impact was minimal. Now that he’s getting to be the orchestrator of an offense with young pieces, he’s proven to be far more effective. Paul has been integral in the Spurs having a 12-12 record and being in the hunt for a Playoff appearance after six seasons.
While the Spurs won’t be anyone’s favorites to win a title in the summer even if they make the Playoffs, it shows Paul can still have his winning effect on teams if they trust him to do what he does best. His on-ball excellence is hard to replicate, even if he isn’t as athletic and offensively dynamic as he once was.
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