The single season that Chris Paul spent with the Thunder planted the seeds for last year’s championship run and the current 23-1 start, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Paul was traded to Oklahoma City in the summer of 2019, along with a collection of draft assets, in the deal that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston. He regularly invited his younger teammates to his home on off nights to watch other NBA teams play and used those games as teaching opportunities. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort both credit that experience with helping them develop into better players.
“Chris really was the first person to show me what it meant to be a professional,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was always doing extra. It was more so off the court than on the court. It was the things you don’t think about as a kid. As a kid, you’re taught to just work super hard, but you’re not really taught nutrition and taking care of your body, getting massages, getting treatment, those type of things he was always on top of. He just always had a get-better mentality in every way, in every way of life.”
Paul was especially influential with Dort, who was in his rookie season when they were teammates. Paul bought him an iPad to study game footage, along with a subscription to the Second Spectrum video service. He was also vocal about encouraging Dort not to pass up open shots, even though he was connecting at less than 30% from beyond the arc at the time.
“I used to be on Lu all the time,” Paul said. “I used to say, ‘Lu, you play defense so hard and you compete so hard that I don’t care if you miss (shots) on offense. I just want you to shoot it and give yourself a chance.’ When guys compete and play like that, then you live with the results.”
There’s more from Oklahoma City:
- In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder became more motivated to succeed after losing to Milwaukee in last year’s NBA Cup final. OKC was already establishing itself as one of the NBA’s elite teams, but it fell by 16 points to a veteran Bucks squad in the title game. “It definitely helped. It for sure helped. Losing in general helps all the time,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s easy to learn from losing. It definitely just showed us the formula for losing. The way we played that night, we didn’t give what the game required and it showed us that. And I think that prepared us to go into the playoffs having to play for something. It showed us before the schemes, before the scouting report, before the making shots, missing shots, the personnel, you’ve got to bring a certain level of intensity, focus and fight to the game if you want a chance to win.”
- One reason for this year’s improvement is the presence of Chet Holmgren, who was only available for 32 regular season games last year. Holmgren has reinvented himself on offense, observes Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated, becoming an efficient shooter all over the court and a reliable scorer in transition, pick-and-rolls and post-ups.
- The Thunder’s dominance may make teams reluctant to go all in with trade offers for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, suggests Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer. Particularly for Western Conference teams, it may not make sense to mortgage their future in a major deal if OKC looks unbeatable.
I remember preseason people on here tried to argue the Thunder wouldn’t dominate. Who’s ready to eat some crow?
Too soon. Their schedule has been ridiculously easy so far.
So we have Paul to thank for creating flopping MVP. Nice.
CP3 — there is a reason why he has played into his 40s. This was unheard off for guards. Once the legs go. It’s pretty much over. Bigs, bigger players can hang around cause they can still use their size and length to compete. When you start losing your kegs it also affects your shooting. Good to hear he has passed on that knowledge. Thunder players are smart to absorb it. No wonder their young players play smart.
Almost makes me want to take on Chris for a title run with Knicks. Not sure about Landry coming back. Thunder look unbeatable. Hope Knicks meet them in Cup Final.
That’s a bit of a stretch Al, CP3 is one of the worst players in the league at age 40, its why it was so easy to cut him, he clearly is washed at 40. He doesn’t and shouldn’t be on an NBA roster anymore. No, what CP3 wanted to do this season was to get the Clippers to fire Lue so he can replace him via being on the roster and trying to sow the seeds of a player revolt himself, so he can retire as a player and immediately step into a HC role.
I don’t buy his “influence” on SGA and Dort either, especially if he told SGA to try and get to the line every possession, like he probably did. Dort he just told to shoot more? Ok cool. Telling good players to play good isn’t the flex we think it is.
He’s a bench player. But a guy that canngive you mins at times. Guards aren’t suppose to play past 34. You heard the expression “wrong side of 30@. That started in NBA. Cause with no legs, it was over. Go look at all HOF guards and when they retired. Not saying he is still a great player. Only playing at 40 is big.
He took them in and taught them to be professional. Thats enough. Wise for a young guy to listen to experience. The world is a glass half full. Try it sometimes.
“The single season that Chris Paul spent with the Thunder planted the seeds for last year’s championship run and the current 23-1 start, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN”
Laughable take. How much did CP3 pay him to say this?
Are you a gigantic Paul hater cause he didn’t win with the Warriors? This is a lot of hate on one of the best PG’s to play in the last 20 years, even with no title and switching teams so much.
I was a gigantic Paul hater his entire career, catch up.
Well have a parade of hate then, you can celebrate his career ending by yourself.
Damn Davey. You are constantly filled with hate on this website towards people who play a game you devote so much of your life watching. Take a deep breath and touch grass brother. It’s just a children’s game
Maybe you should touch some grass brother. I’m getting really really concerned for your mental health.
Damn Smelly, I have never even heard of you. You sure don’t understand hating vs contructive criticism. I hate grifters in basketball and in real life.
The same amount you are getting paid for all the traffic you are bringing to Hoopsrumors – $0.00
I deserve more!!! YOU are posting here because of ME. Eat that truth.