Chris Paul is one of the greatest point guards to ever live. But after a disappointing end to his Houston Rockets tenure and last summer's trade sending him to an unproven Oklahoma City Thunder squad, not many folks were expecting Paul to make his first All-Star team since 2016. Furthermore, he's guided OKC (40-24) to the West's No. 5 seed.
One person that wasn't surprised is Jamal Crawford. Crawford spent five seasons as Paul's teammate with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2012-13 through 2016-17. On the Scoop B Radio podcast, the three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner explained why he isn't shocked to see the Point God having a stellar age-34 season. “It surprised people who may not know Chris, who may want to use the age thing…his peers know. Chris is one of the best point guards to ever play basketball.”
Crawford said he complimented Paul on embracing the challenge of leading the revamped Thunder. “I told him this: This team is one of your biggest feats. They’re not supposed to be where they are currently. They’re supposed to be rebuilding…But when you’re around Chris, he’s always going to get the best out of the team. So it doesn’t shock me that they’re in this position and it doesn’t shock me that they’re playing this well.”
Crawford praised the Thunder guard for “making stuff happen not only for himself, but for his teammates and getting them in positions to score. He may look to score in certain situations but he can see what’s happening.”
In his 14th season, CP3 is averaging 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per 36 minutes for the Thunder. All while posting his highest field goal percentage (.489) since 2009-10—though he only played 45 games that year.
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