The 2020 NBA playoffs were in jeopardy after another tragic shooting interrupted the bubble when Milwaukee Bucks players protested a game following the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin by police officers. After the protested playoff game between the Bucks and Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul apparently did a lot to prevent an aborted playoffs.
After all playoff games were postponed for three days, NBA players had a heated meeting at Walt Disney World and multiple reports have stated that some players were opposed to continuing the games since Blake was the latest unarmed African American to get shot by the police.
However, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Paul “saved the season.”
Silver got a lot of credit for shutting out COVID-19 positives, but Chris Paul, president of the Players Association, deserves as much credit for keeping the players unified. “Chris saved the season,’’ one NBA source said in referring to the pause of play after the Kenosha, Wis., shooting of Jacob Blake in August. Don’t think Knicks president Leon Rose didn’t notice the leadership of his former client.
Paul and Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James spoke to former President Barack Obama about how to handle the Blake shooting.
Obama reportedly told Paul and James to pressure the NBA owners into implementing actionable items to effect positive change, per ESPN.
The 2020 playoffs wound up getting restarted and the Lakers won the NBA title in six games over the Miami Heat for James' fourth NBA championship.
Paul, who could be traded this offseason since the Thunder may embark on a rebuild, has been linked to the New York Knicks since his old agent, Leon Rose, is running the show in the Big Apple.
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