There are constellations in sport that nobody expects.
When playmaker Chris Paul finished second behind NBA legend Kobe Bryant in the 2008 MVP election, his current congenial partner Devin Booker was just eleven years old. Deandre Ayton was only nine.
13 years later, the trio is fighting side by side – and for nothing less than the championship title in the best basketball league in the world.
Despite their strong main round, the Phoenix Suns are the NBA’s surprise team. First, the team knocked out last season’s champion, the Los Angeles Lakers and superstar LeBron James. Now the Denver Nuggets had to believe in it too.
Against the team around this year’s MVP Nikola Jokic, the Suns even managed the sweep so dreaded by the teams – for the experienced Paul it was the first time in his career.
Paul’s career seemed to be coming to an end
The success of the Point Guard is currently like a fairy tale.
In November 2020, it was given in a multi-player trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to Phoenix. The professional, who is only 1.83 meters tall, is now playing the season of his life there.
“They wrote me off a few years ago. They said that I can no longer do that,” Paul said after the sweep against the nuggets TNT-Interview. Often this may be taken as an empty phrase, but with “CP3” it is 100 percent true. (Everything about the NBA)
Paul is widely regarded as one of the best players who has never made it to the NBA finals – despite a career that has been going on since 2005.
Paul experienced the lowest point of his career in 2019, when he and his team were playmaker for the Houston Rockets in the conference final against the Golden State Warriors, who had to do without the injured Kevin Durant in the last two games.
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Point guard with fantastic numbers
It was hard to digest that the Rockets failed anyway. The relationship with star teammate James Harden was in a mess, probably on the advice of “The Beard” Paul was rejected by General Manager Daryl Morey. The point guard’s career seemed to be on its last legs.
Two years later, now at the age of 36 years for a point guard, Paul is in the final of a conference for the second time – and his part in it is large. (NBA results and schedule)
In the first sweep of his career against the Nuggets, he put on an average of 25.5 points and 10.3 assists. He hit almost 63 percent of his throws from the field, an impressive 75 percent from downtown – and the 1.3 turnovers are unbelievably few on average with more than ten assists.
In the fourth and decisive game, Paul even put a whopping 37 points on the floor. He hadn’t managed that many in one game in the past three years.
Suns coach Malone praises profusely
“I’m so grateful for my family, my team. It’s not about me, it’s about us. It shows what is possible when you get together as a team. We have a great team here,” said the 36- Year-old who has been vegan for two years and has completely changed his training work.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was also deeply impressed and stated that Paul was “probably the best point guard of all time”.
A few weeks ago, Paul’s scoring gala in the playoffs was not in sight. In the first round against the Lakers, he scored only 55 points in six games. Because he suffered a shoulder injury, he only threw when it was absolutely necessary. Now he goes back to one jump shot after the other.
Booker as a suitable partner
With his congenial partner Devin Booker, Paul has exactly the right player at his side.
Booker is twelve years younger than the point guard, but both have something in common. Because even he could not always live up to the high expectations. Booker was considered a pure scorer who couldn’t make his team much better.