For roughly the last 15 years, Chris Paul has been one of the best, if not the best pure point guard in the NBA.
He has been an outstanding floor general, and many have felt he doesn’t have any real weaknesses in his game.
During the 2019-20 season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got to witness Paul’s game up close and personal as a teammate of his, and Paul says that Gilgeous-Alexander’s development has been impressive, via a video shared by Brandon Rahbar on Twitter.
Chris Paul calls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's growth the best he's ever seen.⬇️
"I'm biased cause Shai is seriously like my brother.
That year in OKC was one of the most important in my career. Shai, Baze, Schroder, Steven.. those guys helped me fall back in love with the game." https://t.co/vFyMQ6k05j
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) August 29, 2023
The year before, Gilgeous-Alexander was a rookie on a surprising Los Angeles Clippers team that made the playoffs and took two games in the first round from the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
He was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Paul George trade the same summer that the Houston Rockets shipped Paul there.
Many didn’t think the Thunder would make the playoffs that year, but they went 44-28 and came within a whisker of defeating the Rockets in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs.
It seemed to confirm the palpable impact that Paul has consistently had on his teams upon his arrival.
Gilgeous-Alexander went from averaging 10.8 points a game as a rookie to putting up 19.0 points per contest in his sophomore season with Paul’s help.
Although Paul left after that season to join the Phoenix Suns, Gilgeous-Alexander continued his ascent.
This past season, he was among the league’s top scorers with 31.4 points a game, and he also averaged 10.9 free throw attempts a game, which is amazing when one considers he is listed at just 195 pounds.
He is a big part of the Thunder’s future, a future that includes incoming rookie big man Chet Holmgren and a warehouse full of future first-round draft picks.
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