Thursday, July 1st, 2021
NBA star Chris Paul in the finals
The long journey of the great leader
By Heiko Oldbod
Chris Paul has been in the NBA for 16 years and one of its best basketball players. Yet he has never become a master. Now Paul finally has the chance to win the title and is in the final with Phoenix for the first time.
Actually, it was planned quite differently. Because actually Chris Paul shouldn’t make it into the finals of the North American Basketball League NBA against the Los Angeles Clippers, but with them. That’s why he came from New Orleans in 2011. After decades of insignificance, the Clippers finally wanted to build something. They finally wanted to be successful and really be noticed in the Californian metropolis – and beyond. Because NBA and LA – they were always simply the Lakers.
But nothing came of the desired change of power. Paul wore the Clippers jersey for six years. For six years he made for a lot of spectacle together with the other two stars, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The playmaker dictated the pace, Griffin and Jordan completed their high pass before the basket with massive dunks in the net. The Clippers therefore got the nickname “Lob City”. But the Clippers never got past the second round in the playoffs.
Paul’s NBA journey continued. Houston, Oklahoma, Phoenix. And with the often ridiculed Phoenix Suns, of all things, he has now achieved what he had never achieved with the four other clubs: He is in the final for the first time. At the age of 36. 5720 days after its NBA debut. With 130: 103 the Suns had won game six of the semifinal series at the Clippers. It was the fourth and decisive victory – and it was the redemption for Paul.
Flaws of the untitled top star
“16 years, operations, hard work, defeats, bad defeats,” he listed in an interview while still on the floor. A sentence like a reflection of his previous career. Chris Paul, 1.83 meter short point guard, one of the best players of his generation. One who makes his team and his teammates better. And who is still an untitled top star.
Much of the NBA coverage has revolved around him in the past few days. Would he finally make it into the finals for the first time at the age of 36 and after 16 years in the league? And who outside of the Clippers cosmos would not keep their fingers crossed for him, this Christopher Emmanuel Paul – who looks so innocent and can still be so brutal with his way of playing?
He entered the NBA stage on November 1, 2005 – wearing the jersey of the New Orleans Hornets, who have been the Pelicans since 2013. Opponents were the Sacramento Kings. The game was played in Oklahoma City because the arena in New Orleans was still damaged after Hurricane “Katrina”. The Hornets won 93:67, Paul hit three of his seven throws, scored 13 points and had most of his team’s playing time with 33:32 minutes.
The “perhaps the best game manager the league has ever had”
His teammates in the starting five were PJ Brown, JR Smith, David West and Bostjan Nachbar. They all have already finished their careers. None of the other New Orleans and Sacramento pros played that Tuesday night either.
Paul is still active and has now played 1213 NBA games. He has been elected to the Allstar Team eleven times and was the most valuable player (MVP) in this show spectacle in 2013. In four seasons Paul had the most assists in the league and in six the most steals. And he also won two Olympic gold with the USA. “He may be the best game manager the league has ever had,” says ex-pro Reggie Miller.
But the most important trophy, it was so far so far away for Paul – no matter how hard he tried and reached for it. In 2018 he was very close to the finals with the Houston Rockets. The Texans were 3-2 in the semi-final series against champions Golden State. But Paul of all people suffered a hamstring injury in that fifth game and was then absent. Golden State used this advantage to reach the finals.
OKC wanted a fresh start, Paul to Phoenix
But now “CP3” reaches for the championship. “I’m just so happy for everyone around me. And to do this here in LA, after six years with the Clippers – that’s my family too,” said Paul, pointing to friends in the stands of the Staples Center. But then he immediately looked at his Suns teammates. “Man, the troop here. THIS troop. They welcomed me with open arms,” he said to the cheers of his teammates.
On November 16, Paul was delivered to Phoenix by the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC wanted a fresh start and Paul really wanted to go to the Suns. Because they have an outstanding shooter in Devin Booker – and an interaction with the 24-year-old appealed to Paul. However, Phoenix had not reached the playoffs since 2010. And with the exception of the newcomers Paul and Jae Crowder from runner-up Miami Heat, it was the same team that had finished the previous season with a record of 34:39. The prerequisites for Paul to have a chance at his first NBA final in Phoenix of all places were about as big as those of a White Christmas in the Arizona desert.
Long-time NBA player and coach Mark Jackson, who now works as a TV expert, attributes the fact that the Suns have now reached the finals to Chris Paul. “This is a success that, in my opinion, should be credited higher than winning the title at some other club.” Phoenix came second in the strong Western Conference with 51:21 wins in the preliminary round. In the playoffs, the Suns eliminated champions LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Clippers – and lost just four games in the process.
41 Paul points in the decisive victory
In the decisive victory for the final, Paul stood out with 41 points. With two minutes left to play, coach Monty Williams took him out of the game. Phoenix led 124: 100, the game had long been decided. Williams and Paul hugged each other deeply. Both know each other from their time together in New Orleans in 2010. Back then, the newcomer to the coach and the rising star didn’t get along. Now both are playing for the championship. “The biggest success I’ve had as a coach has been with him. He’s a great player, a leader, we saw that today,” said Williams.
Devin Booker has been asked many times over the past few weeks what does Chris Paul mean for his game? The 24-year-old’s answer may be baffling, with Booker pointing out Paul’s influence off the field. “His routine, how he behaves and how he takes care of his body. Listening to him every day and sucking everything up like a sponge has helped my game a lot,” said Booker.
Maybe it was just meant to be that Paul had to come to Phoenix first to make it to the final series. With the club, which has not been in the finals since 1993. Back then, Charles Barkley was still the star of the Suns, who lost 4-2 to the Chicago Bulls for Michael Jordan. Barkley has been an expert on TNT for many years. His opinion on Chris Paul sounds like a crashing dunking in his playing days: “This man is the best leader I’ve seen in the NBA in a long time.”
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