36-year-old Chris Paul and his leadership helped turn the young Phoenix Suns into a playoff juggernaut
- Chris Paul scored 37 points on Sunday to help the Suns reach the Western Conference Finals.
- Paul's arrival in Phoenix helped the Suns snap a 10-year playoff drought.
- Teammates and coaches rave about Paul's leadership and his effect on a young team that is surging.
Abdel Nader tried not to judge Chris Paul before he met him in Oklahoma City.
Of course, he had an idea of what Paul, then a 15-year veteran and 10-time All-Star - a "legend," as Nader put it - was like. But Nader wanted to see for himself.
"He definitely exceeded all my expectations as a leader and as a player," Nader told Insider before the Phoenix Suns completed a sweep of the Denver Nuggets on Sunday to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
"I started playing with him when it was a little bit later in his career, and, I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was, like, almost a decline for him. And then he has this huge season."
That season, Paul made his first All-Star team in three years and helped lead a Thunder team most had pegged for a lottery unit to the playoffs.
Months later, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns alongside Nader.
Nader, a 27-year-old fourth-year player, has now twice seen Paul defy expectations, watching courtside as Paul has continued to win games, all while holding off a decline that simply hasn't come.
"When you look over his career, everywhere he's gone, he's been a big reason why those teams have been put in a position to win and win big," Suns assistant coach Willie Green told Insider in March. "You can argue that he hasn't won a championship and whatnot, but he changes organizations for the better."
The CP3 effect in Phoenix is real
Both Nader and Green testify to Paul's work as a leader, whether organizing workouts, team dinners, or having teammates over his house to watch games. He is talking - always, always talking.
"There's a difference between watching the game and watching a game," Nader said. "I'm noticing like all these little aspects and details, just because I've heard him speak nonstop for two years, and it's made me just a smarter basketball player."
Nader added: "He's the smartest player I've ever played with and that I've ever seen, honestly."
Nader, who called Paul a coach out on the floor, said Paul is in constant search of a "counter."
"He realizes that there's a counter for everything," Nader said. "And then once you start to look at the game the same way, and you've been around him for a while, you start realizing there is a counter for everything. It just makes it easier."
Paul's counters were evident on Sunday. Paul bludgeoned the Nuggets from the midrange. He picked out weaker defenders to attack in the pick-and-roll, then pulled up the from elbow to drain midrange shots, punishing Nuggets centers for playing a "drop" defense - that is, backing up to defend the rim rather than playing up on opposing ball-handlers.
In a postgame interview on TNT, Paul admitted that his midrange game was an adjustment he made years ago.
"Years ago, when I played with the Clippers, the whole league went to this 'drop' defense, and I was like, 'If that's what y'all are gonna give up, I'm going to try to perfect it,'" Paul said.
He then cut himself off, seemingly realizing he may be giving away tactical advice.
"But it's not about that. I'm so grateful to my family, my team."
Indeed, Paul is not doing this alone. Fellow All-Star guard Devin Booker carries a tremendous scoring and playmaking responsibility alongside Paul. Third-year center Deandre Ayton has played remarkably disciplined basketball on both ends in the postseason. Wings Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges defend, spread the floor, and move without the ball. Journeyman backup point guard Cam Payne gave the Suns huge minutes in the first round when Paul battled a shoulder injury.
But according to Green, Paul has helped shepherd this young Suns team.
"I've seen him grow in the sense that he's willing to relinquish some of the leadership to other guys," Green said. "He understands how important it is for all the guys to take a step forward in there and lead by example, lead with their voices."
Nader said: "He's always teaching. Always teaching the game to all his teammates, especially the younger guys. You can't ask more from a leader."
Again, these qualities shined in the second round. In Game 2, Paul deferred, putting on a point guard masterpiece, dishing out 15 assists with 0 turnovers.
Then in Game 4, the veteran took over and stepped on the Nuggets' throats - Paul's 37 points were the most he had scored in a game since 2018.
"A couple years ago, they was writing me off: 'You can't do this,'" Paul said in his postgame interview on TNT.
"It's not about me; it's about us. Show them what you can do when you come together as a team. We got a great team over there, and it's a lot of fun to be a part of it."
Paul and the Suns are now four wins away from the NBA Finals. But they'll have a long rest as they wait to see if they'll play the Utah Jazz or the LA Clippers in the conference finals - Paul's second conference finals of his career and Phoenix's first since 2010.
"I think sometimes people don't give him enough credit for what he's done in the NBA and what he's done with the different organizations that he's been to," Green said back in March. "He's made a major impact. It's just hard to come by leaders like him."