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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only played one season with Chris Paul, but it made a bigger impact than anyone could've imagined, according to Gilgeous-Alexander's father, Vaughn Alexander.
The future Hall of Fame point guard was traded to the Thunder in July 2019, just days after Oklahoma City acquired Gilgeous-Alexander. The two guards played the season together in OKC, which ended up being mutually beneficial.
CP3's message to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Thunder traded away franchise superstar Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul in July 2019, not long after the team also traded Paul George in the blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers that brought back Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In a matter of days, the Thunder went from championship contention to rebuilding for their future. The bright side is they were able to acquire their new franchise superstar in Gilgeous-Alexander, a haul of draft picks picks to build out the future, and a veteran in Chris Paul to help guide their new, young guard.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with ClutchPoints at the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's father, Vaughn Alexander, broke down just what it was that Chris Paul was able to do to help his son in the new environment he was thrust into.
“100% [Chris Paul] helped him too,” Alexander told ClutchPoints. “Shai already has that mindset of reading and reacting from when he was younger. They all just think that you can't speed him up. But now getting to be around a guy that already has that mindset, a veteran that can teach you how to eat, sleep, what to do on and off the court. And more importantly, even on the court, reading the defense, like what I said, and knowing when to draw fouls.”
Few players in the league have been as crafty as Chris Paul has been at drawing fouls, baiting opponents into contact, and securing free throws in big situations.
Vaughn Alexander noted that as something Shai Gilgeous-Alexander picked up from Paul in their season together with the Thunder.
“They call him a ‘free throw merchant,'” Alexander continued. “But I know you're in a bad position. I'm going up. It's a foul. I'm going to go up, bro. You ride my side or my back, I'm going to go up. I don't care. Like, it's actually a skill. So we learned that s**t from Chris Paul too. Let's be real. Right? If you check Chris Paul's game, get to your spot, raise up. Same kind of thing, but he's like, what, 6'1″? And Shai's 6'6″, so he told the Shai like, ‘Bro, you're 6'6.” If I can be doing it, you should be doing it. Like what are you doing here?'”
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot 80 percent from the free throw line in his rookie season with the LA Clippers, 80.7 percent in his second season in the NBA, 80.8 percent in his third season, and 81 percent in his fourth season. It wasn't until the 2022-23 campaign that Gilgeous-Alexander really upped his free throw shooting, going to 90.5 percent in 2022-23, 87.4 percent in 2023-24, and 89.9 percent in 2024-25.
“I remember he told the Shai too, like you should be shooting like 92% from the free throw line,” Vaughn Alexander recalled. “‘The way you shoot, you can shoot threes, you can hit mid-range, you should not be missing free throws.' I think he was shooting at about 80 at that time. So those are the things he helped with. I think in credit to Chris Paul was really making a note saying, ‘Bro, you should be shooting 92%, 90% for the free throw line.'”
Earlier this postseason, when he was given the MVP trophy for the 2024-25 regular season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke down what Chris Paul has meant to him throughout his career.
“He's been great,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Chris Paul during the Thunder's Western Conference Finals series against the Timberwolves. “Not only like a big brother, a mentor, but just like a friend. He's always there to lean on. He was the first guy in my life that I was close with that achieved the things that I wanted to achieve. And I really lean on him for like advice, and not only basketball advice, but like business advice, taking care of your body advice, handling a family when they don't live with you. There's so many things that you deal with as an NBA player, especially of his caliber, that go under the radar and his guidance with that has been great. Not only the mentorship, but even as a friend, he's been special.”
It may have only been one season, but the two shared a bond that clearly goes beyond basketball.
In Chris Paul's lone season with the Thunder, he averaged 17.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from 3-point range.
Through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's first season with the Thunder, he averaged 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from 3-point land. Five seasons later, Gilgeous-Alexander finished as the league's leading scorer at 32.7 points per game while also averaging 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and a block per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field, 37.5 percent on 3-pointers, and 89.8 percent from the free throw line.
