There is no doubt that Chris Paul and his decision to fully commit himself to the cause for the Oklahoma City Thunder has been one of the biggest reasons behind the team's success this season. Despite some rather low preseason expectations from the squad, the Thunder are currently in possession of a very impressive 33-22 record, which is good enough for the sixth spot in a ruthless Western Conference.

On Tuesday night, the Thunder faced off against the San Antonio Spurs, and for his part, Spurs legendary coach Gregg Popovich had nothing but good things to say about the leadership style of Paul. In particular, coach Pop believes that the 34-year-old veteran has, and will continue to have a huge impact on the future of Thunder's promising youngster Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“If a young player can understand what a Chris Paul can give them, then it’s a huge boon to his career,” Popovich said, via Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. “Chris is an alpha. He’s a natural leader. He takes no prisoners. He suffers no fools. He’s there to win.”

In his second year in the league, Gilgeous-Alexander has made a tremendous leap in his development with the Thunder. The 21-year-old combo guard is currently averaging 19.5 points (on 46.5 percent shooting), 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks, while also connecting on 1.3 3-pointers per contest. It is without question that Paul has had a significant role to play in SGA's tremendous sophomore campaign.

Popovich then went on to comment on what type of mentor he considers Paul to be, noting that this is not something you see in the league very often.

“It’s less common than one would think,” Popovich added. “There aren’t one or two of those on every NBA team. Some NBA teams don’t have any. He’s a special dude.”

This is some high praise coming from one of the best coaches in league history. Then again, Paul is also an all-time great, so at this point in his career, the acclamation is well-deserved.