The Chris Paul Effect
Let’s talk a little bit about Chris Paul. He got into the league in 2005, when he was selected by the New Orleans Hornets, and since then has played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Phoenix Suns. Paul is a 4 x All-NBA First Team member, 7 x NBA All-Defensive First Team member, and 11 x NBA All-Star.
More than that, Chris Paul is a great leader. At every team where he played, he became a unifying force that improved everybody. That’s why journalists and fans talk about “The Chris Paul Effect”. What is that? Well, it is a before & after stat about the winning percentage of the teams where Paul played during his career.
For example, before drafting Chris Paul, the New Orleans Hornets had a winning percentage of .219. In his rookie season, the Hornets had a WP of .463. The same thing happened to the Clippers (before CP – .390, with CP – .606), the Rockets (before CP – .671, with CP – .793), the Thunder (before CP – .598, with CP – .611), and to the Suns (before CP – .466, with CP – .708).
This season, Chris Paul accepted a huge challenge and transformed the Phoenix Suns from a team that missed the playoff to a team that finished second in the strong Western Conference. Paul took under his wing young players like Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Cameron Payne, and Mikal Bridges and mentored them.
Now, the Suns are playing against the Lakers in the first round and the champions from 2020 are scared. The team coached by Monty Williams won the first game in Phoenix, 99-90, while keeping LeBron and Davis to 31 points combined.
Let’s see how far can Chris Paul and the Suns go this season.
*photo: Getty Images
