Less than two years after being traded from Houston to Oklahoma City and being written off by many around the league, former Rockets guard Chris Paul is headed to the first NBA Finals of his Hall of Fame career.
Paul was the star of the show in Thursday’s Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at Los Angeles, leading his Phoenix Suns to a 130-103 victory (box score) over the Clippers. The superstar guard known as “CP3” and “The Point God” scored a game-high 41 points on incredible 16-of-24 shooting (66.7%), and he also had 8 assists to 0 turnovers.
After the game, Paul said he writes “Can’t give up now” on his sneakers before every game he plays. According to CP3, he’s done that since the 2019 trade that sent him from the Rockets to the Thunder.
Paul, who is extremely well regarded around the league for his leadership and drive, has made 11 All-Star teams over his distinguished 16-year career. He has been named to the All-NBA first team or second team nine different times, including a spot on the second team this season.
Chris Paul told @Rachel__Nichols why he writes "Can't give up now" on his shoes every game.
He said it was because he listened to the Mary Mary song the day he got traded to OKC. pic.twitter.com/HsJXlJbubS
— ESPN (@espn) July 1, 2021
Paul’s first trip to the Western Conference Finals was in 2018, with the Rockets. Unlike 2021, that playoff run finished in heartbreak. Paul’s season ended abruptly because of a hamstring strain in the final seconds of a Game 5 victory in the conference finals, which had put Houston one game away from knocking off defending champion Golden State. Without Paul, though, they couldn’t seal the deal and lost in seven games.
“Being as close as he was in Houston and getting hurt and not having a chance to compete for a title, I know that burned him,” said Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, who spoke after Thursday’s Game 6.
Paul suffered another Grade 2 hamstring strain early in the ensuing season, and he was never quite the same in the 2018-19 regular season or the 2019 playoffs. That offseason, Houston traded Paul and a lot of future draft considerations to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook, reportedly due to a demand by co-star James Harden. A year later, the Thunder entered into a rebuild and dealt Paul to the Suns.
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As for the Rockets, the Paul-Westbrook trade didn’t result in the title Harden wanted. Only one season after the blockbuster deal and following another early playoff exit, “The Beard” leveraged his way to Brooklyn. Subsequently, Houston finished 2020-21 with the league’s worst record — though the Rockets did land the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming 2021 NBA draft. Meanwhile, Harden’s Nets fell short of their lofty expectations with a loss in the second round of the playoffs to Milwaukee.
Injuries had a lot to do with Brooklyn’s exit, since Harden was playing hurt (due to a hamstring strain) and co-star Kyrie Irving missed the final three-plus games of the Bucks series after spraining an ankle. If not for those situations, it’s entirely possible — and perhaps likely — that a Harden-versus-Paul showdown could be looming in the 2021 NBA Finals.
#Suns Monty Williams on Chris Paul (@CP3) reaching the Finals, "He wants to be a part of winning. He's persevered through a lot. Injuries, playoff heartbreak, being as close as he was in Houston & getting hurt & not having a chance to compete for a title, I know that burned him."
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) July 1, 2021
Instead, because Paul’s team was the one able to stay healthier, the Suns await the winner of Milwaukee versus Atlanta. It’s a cruel twist of fate for Harden and the Rockets, who likely would have won a championship in 2018 if not for Paul’s hamstring injury. But for CP3, who is now 36 years old, it signifies the type of key break that finally went his way.
In two seasons with the Rockets from 2017-18 through 2018-19, Paul averaged 17.1 points (44.1% FG, 36.9% on 3-pointers), 8.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in 31.9 minutes per game. When healthy, though, he saved many of his best performances for the playoffs — and the Suns were able to reap the benefits on Thursday night at Staples Center.
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