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Tim McMahon
open invitation soon turned into an expectation chris paulis the only season of oklahoma city thunder Roaster.
On off nights when the Thunder were at home, all of the team’s players were welcomed to Paul’s place, where the future Hall of Famer lived alone while his family stayed in Los Angeles for the 2019–20 season. Their chefs will prepare a healthy and hearty dinner – vegetarian for Paul and other options for their guests – and the players will eat and watch that night’s NBA action.
Those nights became routine for some of the Thunder’s youngest players, including the promising second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander And raw, untested newbie luguentz dortOnly two players remain on Oklahoma City’s roster from that season. They would sit on the couches, watch one game on the big screen and the other on Paul’s iPad, and soak up the wisdom of one of the smartest basketball minds of this generation.
“We’ll just be resting,” Gilgeous-Alexander recently told ESPN. “But how we watched games, he was never just watching them. He was always watching them to learn.”
Paul also watched sports to teach. He constantly included his regular guests – a group that also included then-rookie forward darius bazley – In basketball joke. They would talk about the tendencies of the players they were watching. Paul often focused on specific actions teams ran and discussed the defensive tactics the Thunder used against those schemes.
“To be honest with you, there was nothing crazy about it,” Paul told ESPN. “It was much more cordial than that.”
Paul’s approach – always teaching, always talking, always challenging his peers – hasn’t always been well received During his 21-year NBA career. This is why his planned retirement tour has been put on indefinite hold LA Clippers made a surprising choice send a future hall of famer home Last week.
But it was embraced and appreciated in Oklahoma City, where Paul helped plant some of the seeds that would blossom into a potential dynasty several years later.
The lessons learned from Paul have played a small role in Gilgeous-Alexander progressing to MVP and Dort developing into one of the league’s premier 3-and-D role players. The habits instilled by following Paul’s leadership became part of the fabric of the franchise during the Thunder’s journey from a rebuilding project to a champion.
Gilgeous-Alexander said, “Chris was really the first person who showed me what it meant to be a professional.” “He was always doing extra. It was more off the court than on the court. It was things you don’t think about as a kid. As a kid, you’re just taught to work extremely hard, but you’re not really taught nutrition and taking care of your body, getting massages, getting treatments, things like that. He was always on top of it.
“He always had this mentality of getting better in every way, in every aspect of life.”
every time dort When he watches the movie, Paul comes to his mind. That’s because Dort still uses the iPad that Paul bought for him during his season as a teammate, when such an expensive purchase could have put a significant dent in the salary Dort received during a two-way contract.
“What I saw right away in Lou was that he had a great work ethic,” Paul said.
Paul wanted Dort to have the tools he needed to properly study the game, so he bought him an iPad, as the 12-time All-Star has done for many rookie teammates over the years. Paul made sure Dort had access to Second Spectrum, a subscription service used by NBA teams, and taught him how to filter clips using specific searches based on sports categories or statistics. And Paul often watched film with Dortch, telling him about details he should pay attention to and giving him advice on how to take notes.
“Honestly, being a CP3 rookie, it was amazing, especially being in a two-way situation,” Dort told ESPN. “Obviously, Chris is Chris, and coming out of college, I look at Chris as a big superstar. So we didn’t interact that much at first, but as I got on the team, we got closer and I could see what type of guy Chris really was. And honestly, he was a great guy.
“He taught me a lot, a real leader, real vocal on the court.”
Sometimes Paul’s version of being an assertive leader is not pleasant. He never hesitated to yell at a teammate who he believed had made a mistake, and Dort was no exception.
Paul’s biggest irritation was when Dort would glare. They were statistically sensible decisions – Dort was a poor shooter at the time, making only 29.7% of his 3-point attempts that season. But Paul wanted to instill confidence in Dort, who eventually earned a standard contract with his relentless defense as a rookie.
“I was on the loo all the time,” Paul said. “I used to say, ‘Lou, you play defense so hard and you compete so hard that I don’t care if you miss. [shots] On crime. I just want you to shoot it and give yourself a chance. When guys compete and play like that, you live with the results.”
Paul happily sided with Dort, who ultimately progressed to 41.2% shooting from 3-point range last season, because he recognized the then-rookie’s strong desire to get better. Paul sees that same trait in Gilgeous-Alexander, who Paul calls a “basketball fanatic,” which is the ultimate compliment coming from him.
Gilgeous-Alexander clearly remembers receiving a call from Paul shortly after waking up on his day off during an early season trip.
“Let’s take the lift,” Paul said, more a demand than a suggestion.
Gilgeous-Alexander expressed confusion in her answer, saying she thought lifting weights was a summer activity for building strength. Paul gave a comprehensive explanation of the importance of in-season lifting to help stay healthy, explaining how working certain muscles works as a form of preventative maintenance. Just like that, they became frequent pickup partners.
“These are things that are normal when you’re teammates,” Paul said. “If I’ve got something going on and they can help me, they help me. If they’ve got something going on, he’s just a teammate.” [sharing] Knowledge. Because of them being small, I was just trying to show [them]I think that’s the importance of veterinarians,”
1:45
What’s next for Chris Paul, Clippers?
Brian Windhorst joins Rich Eisen to break down potential next moves for Chris Paul and the Clippers.
paul returned Oklahoma City is at a crossroads in his career.
He began his NBA career during the 2005–06 season, when the Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. His stellar play during his Rookie of the Year season was a big reason for the city to fall in love with the NBA.
He returned after 14 years Houston Rockets Fell in love with Paul. Paul returned to Bricktown as the Rockets decided to trade him, attaching a package of a first-round pick and swapping the rights to trade him. Russell WestbrookConsidering that at the age of 34, Paul’s decline was well underway.
This gave Paul a lot to prove. The expectation was that Paul would not stay at the Thunder long, as the franchise was ready for a complete rebuild after acquiring a huge amount of draft capital in All-Stars summer trades. paul george and Westbrook, but he was hell-bent on being competitive during his brief tenure.
The Thunder exceeded expectations during that pandemic-interrupted season by finishing with a 44-28 record and pushing the heavily favored Rockets to seven games in a bubble playoff series. Paul earned a second-team All-NBA selection by averaging 17.6 points, 6.7 assists and 1.6 steals while setting a strong tone.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, an assistant coach on that team, said, “The thing I always think about is the regular season sleepover games in the middle of the season in midweek road cities that are like the invisible game – he’s ready to play.” “When you’re around him the seriousness, the professionalism and the level of preparation he brings to himself to play an NBA game every night is impressive. And I think that has an impact on the team.”
When the Thunder left the bubble in September 2020, based on an honest conversation with Thunder general manager Sam Presti, Paul knew he would play elsewhere the following season. Paul upheld his end of the bargain, restoring his trade value to the extent that Oklahoma City received a first-round pick in the deal that sent Paul to his preferred destination of Phoenix, helping them reach the Final Four the following season.
Paul also left a lasting impression on players and staff members who remained in Oklahoma City long after he left.
“Working with Chris was great because you got to see the mind he works with every day and his level of detail and preparation,” Presti said during his preseason media availability in September. “I’m grateful because when we traded for him, it was a surprise to him, but he got two feet here.”
One glaring omission from 40-year-old Paul’s resume as an all-time great is a championship ring, and it seems almost certain that his career will end without it. (No, a ring-chasing reunion with the Thunder is not a realistic possibility; Oklahoma City has no open roster spots and has several young guards who have earned playing time.)
But Paul felt proud after seeing his former pupils win the championship last season.
“It’s right there – nothing better, nothing better,” said Paul, a courtside spectator when Gilgeous-Alexander received the MVP trophy during the conference finals and the final game. “And they deserve it.”
