Happy Birthday, CP3!
Some things age like milk. Gross. Other things age like fine wine and only seem to get better in time. Yum.
The Phoenix Suns’ point guard and fearless leader Chris Paul turned 37 today.
Most players that age are hopping around from team to team trying to keep their careers alive and chase a ring. But our guy is built different. He’s still one of the best players not just on this team but in this league and in the history of it.
He continues to defy the odds, put up crazy numbers in wins and make those around him better. He certainly doesn’t look or play his age and while time says he “should”, I don’t see him slowing down any time soon.
Being vegan appears to be helping him and as much as I enjoy meat, it almost tempts me to try that diet if it ages me half as well as it does him.
Simply said, it’s astonishing what he is doing at his age. Just being on the court puts him ahead of most.
Check this out.
Here is a list of current NBA players that are 37 (Chris Paul’s age) or older:
- Paul Millsap
- Andre Iguodala
- Carmelo Anthony
- LeBron James
- Udonis Haslem
- P.J. Tucker
That’s it. That’s the list.
He’s one of seven players still around as a “dinosaur”. Three of them don’t play much at all. A couple others have definitely declined, though respect to them for still contributing.
LeBron is the only other guy at/above his level (not comparing) at his age.
If you take a look at his draft class (2005), C.J. Miles (2 total minutes in 1 game) and Lou Williams (a shell of himself sadly) are the only other players from that draft that stepped on an NBA court this season.
That’s simply impressive and really all he does is.
Just look at these playoffs alone and the epic performances he has turned in already.
I don’t know where to start to talk about just one because he is so awe inspiring to watch every single time he steps foot on the hardwood.
Several times a game I just grin and think “Chris. Freaking. Paul.” We are blessed to be watching one of the best ever and I love that he’s on my team.
I asked a couple of our Bright Side guys what their favorite memory of him is.
Kenneth Manoj: My favorite CP3 moment this season goes back to January 30th when he guided the Suns to a comeback victory over the Spurs. Paul had 8 of his 19 assists in the 4th quarter and orchestrated a 17-point turnaround as the Suns posted their 10th victory in a row, their second of the season.
John Voita: This is tough because, for the majority of his career, he has been the enemy. I’ll step outside of the Suns’ box and go with a time in which I gained respect for his competitiveness. Because lord knows his antics frustrated me. For years.
Remember in 2020 when we all believed Devin Booker should have voted onto the All-Star team, but it was OKC CP3 who earned the final spot?
The next game for the Suns was against that Thunder team and we all viewed it as an opportunity for Booker to show the NBA they got it wrong.
He didn’t.
It was Chris Paul who scored 6 points and had 3 assists in the fourth quarter and ultimately guided his team to a 111-107 victory. In that moment my perspective changed.
Here was a guy who was playing for a trash OKC team at what seemed to be the end of his career. Yet his competitive nature willed them to victory and silenced critics such as myself. I went from being annoyed by Paul to respecting him.
290 days later, the Point God was traded to Phoenix.
As much of a gift as CP3 has been to each and every one of his teammates, the very best gift they could get him is just to continue to give it all out there and finally get him that ring. He sure deserves it.
Go Suns!
Happy Birthday, Chris Paul!
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