OKC Thunder Rookie Opens Up on Chris Paul’s Impact on Him Both on and off the Court

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the odds to make the playoffs in the 2019-20 season. And they did that in style, qualifying as the fifth seed despite not being favored to reach the playoffs. Led by Chris Paul, the young team gave a tough fight to the Rockets, before bowing out in Game 7.

One of the young players on the team, rookie Darius Bazley, spoke about how Paul has helped him since his arrival at OKC.

He said, “Chris had a major impact. I love him and he is like a big brother. He taught me so much on and off the court. Even times where I didn’t want to hear it, but that was the great thing because he would tell you things that you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear.

“He helped me in tremendous ways with my confidence, helping me make quicker and the right decisions. Like I said off the court, Chris helped me with life.  He’s been playing this game for 15 years, so he had a lot of knowledge and loves to pass it on. I was just like a sponge, I just soaked it all up.”

What’s next for Chris Paul?

After being on two contending teams previously, the Clippers and the Rockets, he was traded to the rebuilding Thunder. They finished with the same amount of wins as the Rockets but finished one spot below due to a tiebreaker. Although they fell to the Rockets in the playoffs, Paul and the team proved they weren’t messing around when they took them to Game 7.

Now entering into his 16th season in the league, Paul is yet to win a ring. Although he is still performing at an All-Star level, one cannot predict how many more years he has left. So he will be hunting for that elusive ring now. During a recent interview, he was asked about his future. He replied, “I have no clue. I enjoyed this past season and we’ll see what happens.”

The Milwaukee Bucks were rumored to be interested in trading for him, but it will be a challenge to do so considering he has a massive $41m contract. Paul is one of the best players to have not won a ring. So fans will hope he has a real shot at one in the upcoming season.

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