“It was fun.”
That’s what Chris Paul said as he sat at the podium after Team Lebron’s 157-155 win over Team Giannis in Sunday night’s All-Star Game.
Paul scored a career-best 23 points to go along with six assists, making a solid argument for his second All-Star Game MVP, although the honor of the inaugural Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP ended up going to Kawhi Leonard.
Paul proved that he was still every bit the All-Star caliber player that fans had gotten accustomed to seeing during his nine-year run in which he was selected to every game from 2008 through 2016.
The three-year hiatus in between All-Star Games was part of what made this year’s more meaningful.
“The weekend was special because for me I hadn’t played in the game since 2016,” said Paul. “It was fun, especially to have my family, my kids get a chance to experience this stuff with me.”
From the podium. @CP3 | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/50Dk2Mt1wG
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 17, 2020
As a whole, the All-Star Game was about a lot more than just having fun this year.
The league went to great lengths to honor the late Kobe Bryant, with multiple tributes throughout the weekend, including all the members of Team Giannis wearing Kobe’s No. 24 and all the members of Team LeBron donning his daughter Gianna’s No. 2.
Though they wanted to honor Kobe, Paul admitted that it was difficult at times throughout the weekend.
“It was tough early, especially early,” Paul revealed. “For a lot of us, it’s still surreal. It’s not real until you start showing pictures and talking about it. But I think the best way we could honor Kobe, Gigi, and everyone involved was to play like we played.”
Paul also said that he’d like to see the NBA continue having both teams play for charity in the All-Star Game, another new component of the game that was implemented this year. He said without the fans, there’s no reason for the All-Star Game to exist.
“Sometimes people lose sight of the purpose of All-Star Weekend. It’s really a big “thank you” to the fans and all the people that support us,” Paul said. “We go out there and compete night-in and night-out, but there’s no ‘us’ without the fans.”
The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will be Sunday, Feb. 14 in Indianapolis.