By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The San Antonio Spurs surely kicked off the NBA off-season with a couple of impressive trade deals that included the arrival of superstar point guard Chris Paul in Texas.
Despite finishing the season at the bottom of the Western Conference with a win-loss record of 22-60, the “Point God” is ecstatic to help build a winning culture with the rebuilding San Antonio franchise.
During his introductory press conference with the Spurs, Paul revealed that it was a no-brainer picking San Antonio as his new home after a brief stint with the Golden State Warriors.
According to Paul, a huge factor that influenced his decision to join the storied franchise was because of the legendary Gregg Popovich.
“There’s so much respect there. Not only for his basketball IQ, but just for who he is as a person, as a competitor in all of this,” Paul said.
Paul entered the NBA during the 2005 season and instantly turned the Hornets franchise around by leading them to several playoff appearances.
With a stacked lineup together with Tyson Chandler and Emeka Okafor, Paul’s Hornets squad was considered one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference but the Popovich-led Spurs stood their way and handed them several painful losses in the post season.
Now that Paul will be playing for Popovich, the veteran floor general said that he is already excited to learn more about the game and the San Antonio system.
Aside from Popovich, Paul also mentioned playing alongside Victor Wembanyama, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year.
“I played against him this season, and I tell you, there’s probably no player that everybody in the league talks about after the game like him,” Paul added.
During his past years, Paul had a history of making young teams better, proof is helping the Oklahoma City Thunder improve their win-loss record during the 2019-2020 NBA season.
Aside from his stint with the Thunder, Paul also instantly made the Phoenix Suns a contender when he played for the franchise from 2020-2023.
