Chris Paul Opens Up About His Time With Thus Far With The Oklahoma City Thunder

Earlier this week, Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder joined ALL THE SMOKE with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. They spent some time discussing the trade to Oklahoma City, his initial thoughts, and how things have gone thus far with the Thunder.

Paul started off by joking about his age and just how young this exciting team is. “First of all I’m 34, about to be 35 next month. I’ve got a 19 year old on my team. I’ve got Darius Bazley, my young fella, love him to death.”

He also mentioned how many of his new teammates didn’t know he had lived in Oklahoma before. After being drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in 2005, Hurricane Katrina resulted in the team being relocated to Oklahoma City and Paul playing the first two seasons of his career there. In fact, he won NBA Rookie of the Year in Oklahoma City.

Paul had a lot to say about confidence. He mentioned the moment you lose your confidence, you are done. After being traded to the Thunder, he thought to himself “I know what I can do, let’s get to it.” He would go on to say, “When I got to Oklahoma, I had to prove myself.” It appears his confidence is a high as it has ever been as he has lead the Thunder this season.

Paul talked about how when the media says you are washed, people start to think that is true. After two seasons with the Houston Rockets, there had started to be a narrative about Paul that he was no longer the player he once was and was drastically overpaid. “I had to prove to myself to my teammates, my coaches, to everyone in the organization. I had to show that I could stay healthy. The best thing about it is that we had a great group of guys.”

After being traded to Oklahoma City, Paul was invited over to Head Coach Billy Donovan’s house for dinner, where Donovan’s wife cooked beyond meat in support of Paul’s plant-based diet. He discussed the great conversation they had, saying, “As a man, not as a kid, look coach — good, bad or indifferent, let’s talk, let’s communicate. Let me know what you need and vice-versa. Billy has been great with that.”

Matt Barnes had a great question for Paul, asking what the overall environment has been like around the team. “We’ve got a team group chat and guys talk…when we all get together, there’s nothing like it. We have so much fun, everyone loves to learn and compete, but we’ve still got such a young team. I’m constantly in their ear, always talking.” You can see how this correlates on the court, as the new-look team with a completely new roster was able to mesh and establish great chemistry very early in the season.

As the leader of this young team, Paul has already started to notice some of the impact he has made on some of the young guys on the team through always being in their ears. He is constantly giving them tips and feedback both on and off the court. Paul talked about how some of the things he has taught them has started to show as they do certain things and even echo some of the things he has told them along the way. “It let me know I am doing something right. Even though sometimes it’t probably a lot for them, eight to ten years from now when they are still in the league, they are going to remember that.”

Paul had excellent things to say about Steven Adams both as a person and a player. “Steven Adams is the nicest, most polite person you will ever meet…He’s very routine, big on body movements, and just a constant teammate. He’s going to do whatever the teams needs him to do…he doesn’t care about nobody’s rebounds, nobody’s points. The man is just a great dude and so funny too, probably one of the funniest ones in our team’s group chat.”

Overall, Chris Paul has been excellent this season and without a doubt one of the main reasons the Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the most successful and surprising teams in the entire NBA throughout the 2019-20 season. Staying healthy all season long and being the unquestioned leader is something that Thunder fans everywhere have been extremely appreciative of. This will not only have an immediate impact on the team, but also benefit the young guys on the roster for many years to come as the Thunder look to once again build out a championship-caliber roster over the next several years.