The 2020 Orlando bubble was not the easiest thing for NBA players to commit to. While everyone wanted to see professional basketball return to TV screens, players were leaving their families for months during an unprecedented issue in modern history with a pandemic and racial equality protests raging across the country at the time.
The players were in the bubble during the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in 2020 and almost walked out after the death of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. The players had refused to play games, even consulting the victim’s father, and were in a politically challenging position. However, these are some of the most well-reputed athletes in the world and Jason Kidd revealed that Chris Paul managed to get Barack Obama on the phone to guide the group.
Mavs Jason Kidd on his experience of being on the NBA ‘Bubble’ that had the opportunity to speak w @BarackObama:
“First of all for Chris Paul to be able to call that was pretty unique. That’s a heck a Rolodex to have [his] number.”
1/2 #MFFL #NBATwitter #lakeshow pic.twitter.com/ycS6OrI0qm
— Landon Buford (@LandonBuford) October 11, 2022
“It was incredible to hear him on the phone. First of all, for Chris Paul to be able just to call that was pretty unique. That’s a heck of a Rolodex to have that person’s number in your phone. I think LeBron said even he didn’t have that number”
“It was really cool to hear President Obama and his remarks of how to handle certain things. I thought LeBron and CP and Westbrook and Melo and those guys that were in that meeting did a really good job of making sure, one, we kept playing basketball, but, two, being able to have the world hear their message.”
CP3 served as the President of the NBPA at the time and executed his responsibilities to the fullest. Calling Barack Obama off your phone is not a privilege many players have, but Chris Paul is not like many players.
Chris Paul: The Exemplary Leader
NBA fans have been hearing about ‘Chris Paul’s leadership’ for years now, but there’s a reason people talk about it so often. CP3 has the innate ability to motivate players around him in a basketball sense and protect them from unjust forces off the court.
CP3 isn’t the NBPA President any more but has always played a crucial role in what the union does for the players. CP3 led the NBPA during the pandemic-affected years and only recently gave up his position for CJ McCollum to take over. Adam Silver has credited Paul’s contributions to getting the bubble up and running.
He has done other things like getting LeBron James to make a statement and be a VP under him for the NBPA and establish the first health insurance program for retirees in North American professional sports. He is a truly one-of-a-kind leader that we don’t see in modern sports.
