Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul is one of the greatest players to ever put on an NBA uniform. Paul, an 8-time All-NBA player, has the 5th most assists in NBA history (even more than Lakers legend Magic Johnson). Beyond his mesmerizing passing and ball-handling skills, Paul has been a deadeye shooter throughout his career (especially in the mid-range area of the court), and a bulldog on the defensive side of the floor. Now in his 16th season in the NBA, and at the ripe age of 35, Paul continues to play at a high level. He averaged 16.4 points per game and 8.9 assists per game (while also shooting a scorching 49.9 percent from the field). He even garnered some MVP buzz, as the Suns finished 51-21 this season, good enough to gain the 2nd seed in the highly competitive Western Conference. Though he won’t win the MVP (the finalists for the award are Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Stephen Curry), a case can be made that no player this season has been more impactful (from a tangible and intangible standpoint) for his team this season.
Chris Paul has had a major positive effect for the Suns. Just watching Phoenix’s games, it is clear that he draws so much attention from opposing defenses, which creates good high percentage shots for his teammates. The Suns jumped from 9th in field goal percentage last season to 2nd in field goal percentage this season, with Paul running the point for an average of 31.4 minutes per game. Deandre Ayton, a talented center, is shooting a career-high 62.6 percent from the field. He has established good chemistry with Paul on pick and rolls and alley-oops. Paul has also played a role in the development of third-year forward Mikal Bridges. Bridges has had an excellent season shooting the ball, with Paul playing a role in getting him quality shots. He shot 42 percent from 3 point range this season, a 6 percent increase from last season (though Bridges has also played well with other talented Phoenix guards such as Devin Booker and Cameron Payne). Beyond the individual statistics, Chris Paul has had a major impact on winning, as I mentioned earlier. True, the Suns did show growth last year, finishing 34-39 and winning their final eight games of the season in the Orlando bubble (they increased their win percentage by 17 percent from the previous season even before the Covid shutdown). Still, the fact of the matter is that the Suns have lept from 10th last season to 2nd in the Western Conference standings, even passing by conference powerhouses such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers. That big of an improvement, to me, probably wouldn’t have happened without the addition of Paul.
Phoenix’s success this season with Paul has been no fluke, as he has a long track record historically of turning around or improving teams that he joins. As a rookie with the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans) in 2006, Paul led the team to a 38-44 record, a twenty-win improvement from the previous season. By his third year in the league in 2008, Paul led the Hornets to a 56-26 season and a trip to the Western Conference Semifinals (they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games). The Hornets then made multiple playoff appearances for the rest of Paul’s tenure, only missing the playoffs in 2010 when Paul missed 37 games (largely due to knee surgery). Paul joined the Clippers via trade in December 2011. Prior to his arrival, the doormat Clippers made the playoffs a whopping four times in their previous thirty-five seasons. In his first season there, the Clippers win percentage increased by 21 percent, and the Clippers made the first of six consecutive playoff appearances through 2017. After his partnership with Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan ran its course, Paul went to the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2017. In Paul’s first season with the Rockets, the team went 65-17, a twelve-win increase from the 2016-2017 season. The Rockets pushed the dynasty-era Golden State Warriors (with both Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant) to a 3-2 series deficit before an untimely hamstring injury for Paul caused him to miss the last two games of the series, both of which the Warriors won. Even last season, Paul took the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs, in a season where they were expected to be a lottery team.
Members of the Suns organization rave about Chris Paul’s tremendous leadership skills. Suns coach Monty Williams, who won the NBCA Coach of the Year award and previously coached Paul during his final year in New Orleans, said in April 2021 (per Royce Young of ESPN), “I don’t have enough time to talk about everything he’s done. He’s brought such a-he’s improved the winning mentality. All of our guys want to win. But when you see a guy that has done it from afar, and then you look at how he does it, from his diet to the exercise routine he has every day, and then in game when he’s able to be in those situations and really lift the level of our team, it’s really cool to watch.” In that same story, Deandre Ayton spoke regarding Paul’s intangibles. Regarding Paul’s impact, he said, “Paying attention to detail. Approaching the game the right way. Seeing the little things and just thinking ahead. Not thinking like a normal basketball player, but thinking ahead and knowing what teams’ tendencies are and how we can get better, how else we can tweak an offense or a defense. Calling things out early. Just being aware of any little thing. He really brings the best out of people. He wants the best for you, and he’s going to talk to you, teach you…” Finally, superstar Devin Booker perfectly summed up Chris Paul’s level of influence (per Royce Young). Booker said, “I’m inspired every day. I tell Chris that every day. It’s not something I’m going to take for granted…There’s so much respect for him and not just from me, but league wide and worldwide.” The ultimate point is that Chris Paul, besides the numbers and wins, brings so much value to the Phoenix Suns, in ways that cannot be measured (and this value is particularly clear to those who work with him day in and day out). As a result, Chris Paul, in my mind, has been the most impactful player in the NBA this season.
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