A 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection and member of the league's 75th Anniversary Team, the only thing missing from Chris Paul's Hall of Fame resume is a championship ring.
But after the Golden State Warriors waived him in June, Chris Paul opted to sign with the San Antonio Spurs, coming off a 22-win season, rather than a team considered a championship contender.
Paul wants to play, and probably wants to play even more than he did last season.
“I'm just happy for the opportunity to play and contribute and play basketball,” Paul said when he was officially introduced by the Spurs on Tuesday. “It's all about family. My wife is here, my kids are back in L.A. and I'll be there during the season. I love basketball, so being close to home is fine, but if I'm not playing, I'm not happy.”
Paul was acquired by the Warriors last summer in what may have been the most surprising move of the offseason given that the franchise was a longtime rival to Golden State's dynasty. Paul was expected to join Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in a championship-winning effort, but the Warriors fell far short, finishing 10th in the Western Conference and missing the postseason after losing in the play-in tournament.
Entering the 2023-24 season, Paul had started every NBA game he had played in since being drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in 2005. But he came off the bench with the Warriors, averaging a career-low 26.4 minutes per game while averaging 9.2 points (also a career-low), 6.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds.
But now Paul has a chance to start again in San Antonio, and he'll be doing so alongside arguably the brightest young star in basketball: the reigning Rookie of the Year, 20-year-old phenom Victor Wenbanyama.
“There's no one that everyone in the league talks about more after a game than him. [Wembanyama]”Everybody has to adjust. Me and Harrison. [Barnes] “On the plane yesterday, I was just saying how great it is to have the opportunity to evaluate him every day at this point in our careers.”
