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| ==Early years== | ==Early years== | ||
| Chris Paul was born in ], the second son of Charles Edward Paul and Robin Jones after Charles "C.J." Paul. Growing up, Paul and C.J. took summer to work at their grandfather's gas station |
Chris Paul was born in ], the second son of Charles Edward Paul and Robin Jones after Charles "C.J." Paul. Growing up, Paul and C.J. took summer to work at their grandfather's gas station. | ||
| ===High school=== | ===High school=== | ||
Revision as of 11:19, 14 April 2009
 | |
| No. 3 – New Orleans Hornets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1985-05-06) May 6, 1985 (age 39) Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | West Forsyth |
| College | Wake Forest |
| NBA draft | 2005: 4th overall |
| Selected by the New Orleans Hornets | |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| 2x NBA All-Star (2008, 2009) 2008 All-NBA First Team 2008 NBA All-Defensive Team 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year 2006 NBA All-Rookie Team | |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association. He serves as team captain of the franchise.
Paul was born and raised in North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity seasons in high school, he was a McDonald's All-American and basketball accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake Forest University. After his sophomore year with the Demon Deacons, he declared for the draft. Since being selected 4th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by New Orleans, Paul has been named a NBA Rookie of the Year Award (2006), an multiple All-Star, listed in both All-NBA and All-Defensive teams and led the Hornets to the second round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. He has also won an Olympic Gold Medal with the United States national basketball team.
Off the court, Paul is a notably ten-pin bowler and a sponsored spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). He has participated in numerous celebrity and youth events as head of CP3 Foundation to benefit programs in his hometown Winston-Salem and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Early years
Chris Paul was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the second son of Charles Edward Paul and Robin Jones after Charles "C.J." Paul. Growing up, Paul and C.J. took summer to work at their grandfather's gas station.
High school
Paul played at West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina, where he was a 2003 McDonald's All-American and was named North Carolina's Mr. Basketball for 2003 by The Charlotte Observer. Paul averaged 30.8 points, 9.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.0 steals per game as a senior in leading his team to a 27–3 record and the Class 4A Eastern Regional finals. That same year, at the beginning of the season, Paul scored 61 points in honor of his grandfather, Nathaniel Jones, who, only days before, had been beaten to death in his own driveway during a robbery. Paul scored one point for every year his grandfather lived. When Paul reached the 61-point mark, he intentionally missed a free throw, then took himself out of the game even though the state high school scoring record of 66 points was well within reach.
Summer Circuit
Though he did not win a state championship while in high school, Paul did take the Winston-Salem-based Kappa Magic (alongside future University of North Carolina rival Reyshawn Terry), to the 2002 National U-17 AAU Championship over an All-Ohio team led by 2003 McDonald's All-American Drew Lavender, taking home the tournament's MVP award in the process.
College career
Paul attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played there for two years leading the Demon Deacons to two NCAA Tournaments, and one Sweet Sixteen appearance. In his freshman year he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year, and National Freshman of the Year by several publications. Paul also earned ACC All-Defensive Team honors during his time at Wake and was among the Consensus First Team All-Americans in his sophomore year. By the time he declared for the 2005 NBA Draft as a sophomore, he had finished near the top of almost every offensive category at Wake Forest.
NBA career
2005–06 season
Paul was selected fourth overall by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft. Due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that summer to the city of New Orleans, Paul did not play his first full season in New Orleans. Instead, the team played in various arenas and relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Hornets only played three games in New Orleans Arena.
Paul led all rookies in points, assists, steals, and minutes, earning him the 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Paul was a near-unanimous winner for the award, but one voter (Ron Boone, television analyst for the Utah Jazz) gave Deron Williams his vote instead of Paul. This, along with the fact that both were taken back to back in the draft and play the same position, has led to an on-court rivalry between Paul and Williams. Their rivalry began on December 1, 2004 when Paul led his No. 1-ranked Wake Forest into Champaign to face Williams' Illini. Illinois thrashed the Demon Deacons 91–73 and took the top spot from there into their run to the 2005 NCAA Championship Game. Williams had 8 points and 11 assists while Paul was held to 10 points.
Paul finished the 2005-06 season averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 assists, and 5.1 rebounds. He was also the only unanimous selection to the 2005-06 NBA All Rookie First Team and was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month every month in the 2005-06 season. After the season, Paul won the ESPY Award for Best Breakthrough Athlete. He recorded his first triple-double on April 2 2006 against the Toronto Raptors with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists.
2006–07 season
Still playing in Oklahoma City, Paul followed up his impressive rookie campaign with a solid sophomore season. He improved his scoring average to 17.3 points, and improved his assists average with 8.9 per game. He averaged 4.4 rebounds per game. Paul's season was riddled with injuries though, as he was limited to playing in only 64 games.
Paul was not named an All-Star in 2007, but he was named to replace Steve Nash in the 2007 Playstation Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend. He played in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and dished out 17 assists and had 9 steals, both T-Mobile Rookie Challenge records. When interviewed during the Rookie Challenge, Paul vowed that he would be an All-Star next season, as the All-Star Game would be held in New Orleans.
2007–08 season
The 2007-08 season brought the full return of the Hornets to the city of New Orleans. Emerging as a true superstar, Paul averaged 21.1 points and 4 rebounds, and led the NBA in steals with 2.71 per game and assists with 11.6 per game. He was selected by NBA coaches to play in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game which was hosted by the city of New Orleans, thereby fulfilling his vow from the previous season. Paul's teammate David West was named as an All-Star reserve and Hornets coach Byron Scott coached the Western Conference All-Stars. During All-Star Weekend, Paul participated again in the 2008 All-Star Playstation Skills Challenge winning the first round but losing in the final round to Deron Williams. Paul sparked a 4th quarter comeback for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game, but the East held on to win 134-128. He finished the game with 16 points, 14 assists and 5 steals.
Paul continued his stellar play following the All Star game, leading the New Orleans Hornets to one of the best records in the West. After a 37 point, 13 assist, and 3 steal performance by Paul against the Chicago Bulls on March 17, 2008, Paul led a 4th quarter comeback win, the Hornets ascended to the top of the standings in the Western Conference. On April 4, 2008, Chris Paul helped the Hornets clinch a playoff spot for the first time since the 2003-04 season. The Hornets ultimately finished the season with a 56-26 record, the best record in team history, and finished #2 overall in the NBA Western Conference standings. Paul ended the season leading the NBA with 11.6 assists and 2.71 steals per game, and registered a steal in all 80 games he played in. Recently, on December 17, 2008, against the San Antonio Spurs, Paul broke Alvin Robertson's 22-year-old NBA record by registering at least one steal in 106 consecutive games.
In Paul's first NBA playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks, he scored 35 points, with 24 coming in the second half, along with 10 assists and 4 steals. In Game 2, he scored 32 points and set a franchise playoff-record 17 assists, leading the Hornets to a 127-103 victory to go 2-0 against Dallas. After splitting Games 3 and 4 in Dallas, the Hornets eliminated the Mavericks, 4-1, in Game 5 for their first ever playoff series victory behind a 24 point, 11 rebound, and 15 assist performance from Paul.
He finished second in MVP voting, behind Kobe Bryant, who beat him with a margin of 306 votes. He was selected for the All-NBA First Team, 3 votes shy of a unanimous choice.
Paul has reportedly reached an agreement on a three-year extension with the Hornets with a player option with a fourth year, with a total value of $68 million.
2008-09 Season
Paul has started out the season with a huge impact. He broke a record of 108 consecutive games with at least one steal. Paul was named to his second NBA All Star Game. As of April 2nd he is again leading the league in both assists and steals while also contributing in excess of 22 points per game.
International
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  United States
| ||
| Olympics | ||
 |
2008 Beijing | National team |
| World Championships | ||
 |
2006 Japan | National team |
Paul has earned 10 caps for various junior national teams. He made his debut for the senior United States national basketball team on August 4, 2006 in a friendly against Puerto Rico. Paul made the final cut and remained on the Team USA roster for the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Team USA finished with an 8-1 record and defeated 2004 Olympic gold medal winner Argentina for a third-place finish. Paul set a Team USA World Championship total assist record with 44 assists, to go along with only 9 turnovers.
He participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where the USA went unbeaten en route to the gold medal, defeating 2006 world champion Spain. Playing as back up to starter Jason Kidd, the "Redeem team" captured gold for the first time since the 2000 Olympics.
Awards and honors
- NBA All-Star: 2008, 2009
- All-NBA Team:
- First Team: 2008
- Second Team: 2008
- NBA Rookie of the Year: 2006
- NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2006
- Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championship
- Notched second place on ESPN's greatest player of the 2007-2008 regular season :
- Gold medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games
- 108 consecutive games with at least one steal, most in NBA history 12-23-2008
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | N.O./Oklahoma City | 78 | 78 | 36.0 | .430 | .282 | .847 | 5.1 | 7.8 | 2.2 | .1 | 16.1 |
| 2006–07 | N.O./Oklahoma City | 64 | 64 | 36.8 | .437 | .350 | .818 | 4.4 | 8.9 | 1.8 | .1 | 17.3 |
| 2007–08 | New Orleans | 80 | 80 | 37.6 | .488 | .369 | .851 | 4.0 | 11.6 | 2.7 | .1 | 21.1 |
| 2008–09 | New Orleans | 70 | 70 | 38.1 | .501 | .345 | .873 | 5.4 | 11.0 | 2.9 | .1 | 22.2 |
| Career | 292 | 292 | 37.1 | .468 | .339 | .849 | 4.7 | 9.9 | 2.4 | .1 | 19.2 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 1 | 27.0 | .500 | .333 | .000 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 4.0 | .0 | 16.0 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | New Orleans | 12 | 12 | 40.5 | .502 | .238 | .785 | 4.9 | 11.3 | 2.3 | .2 | 24.1 |
| Career | 12 | 12 | 40.5 | .502 | .238 | .785 | 4.9 | 11.3 | 2.3 | .2 | 24.1 |
Personal life
 | This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (January 2009) |
| This section contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (January 2009) |
On Thursday, January 22, 2009, Chris Paul was named a starter at guard for the Western Conference All-Stars for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
Paul is an official member of the Nike Team Jordan brand. He was one of only three athletes (Derek Jeter and Carmelo Anthony being the others) to have had his own shoe made with the brand.
Paul was the cover athlete for the video game NBA 2K8.
Paul and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush are close friends and live in the same complex in the Central Business District of New Orleans. They also share a personal chef.
Chris Paul and LeBron James, are best-friends. Paul stated that "He's like my brother"
Chris Paul and Utah Jazz Point guard Deron Williams, are close friends.
During the second season of ESPN's It's the Shoes, Paul revealed to Bobbito Garcia that the "CP3" nickname comes from family tradition & the combination of his initials & jersey number is strictly a coincidence. His father (Charles Paul) and older brother (C.J. Paul) are nicknamed CP1 and CP2, respectively. Paul also notes that all three men's initials are CEP."
Whenever Chris scores during a Hornets home game the PA Announcer will simply say "CP3!" and then play a sound byte of legendary pro wrestler Ric Flair's famous "Wooooo!" quote. Flair, who is an avid Hornets fan and whose loyalty stuck with the team even after they relocated from his hometown Charlotte to New Orleans, attended every Hornets home game in their 2008 Western Conference Semi-Final Series against the San Antonio Spurs & introduced the starting lineups at a home game against the Golden State Warriors.
Chris Paul is mentioned in the song, My Life by rapper The Game, in which The Game says he's, "got a Chris Paul mind of state, I'm never out of bounds." Chris Paul is also mentioned in the song, MVP by rapper Ludacris where Ludacris says "I'm on point like CP3." Chris Paul is also mentioned in the song Dedication 3 on Lil Wayne's Dedication 3 mixtape saying "Young Money nigga We Ball, Like Kobe or Chris Paul" He is also mentioned on the Lil' Wayne and The Game's track entitled "Red Magic" when The Game says "Yea Im in L.A. Gasolin', but when I'm in New Orleans you can call it Chris Paul'n"
In 2008, Paul appeared on the NPR news quiz show "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!," where he went three-for-three in the "Not My Job" game.
Chris Paul was named the best point guard in the NBA by Gary Payton.
Notes
- Player Bio: Chris Paul
- Bucher, Ric (2008-11-03). "HOW DO YOU KNOW ... WHO'S BETTER?". ESPN: The Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- Yahoo.com Chris Paul 2007-08 Game Log
- ^ NBA Stats: 2007-2008 Regular Season
- Chicago vs. New Orleans - Recap - March 17, 2008, ESPN.com
- Paul has steal in 106th straight game as Hornets win
- Paul, Hornets climb back from deficit to take Game 1 from Mavs
- Mavericks 10, Hornets 204 - boxscore
- Paul dissects Mavs' D, dishes out 17 assists as Hornets go up 2-0
- Paul, Hornets finish off Mavericks in five to move on to second roundIn the second round, they lost in 7 games to the San Antonio Spurs.
- Kobe Bryant Wins Most Valuable Player Award
- http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8303924
- US hoops back on top, beats Spain for gold medal
- Air Jordan CP3 - Chris Paul Signature Shoe - NiceKicks.com
- Chris Paul Gets NBA 2K8 Cover
- "Debutante Baller", ESPN The Magazine
- YouTube - Chris Paul on Bobbito's It's the Shoes
- Bot generated title -->
- http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/One-on-One-Gary-Payton-talks-television-Sonics;_ylt=ApVOmNewdCUbWlCaQMwJQOC8vLYF?urn=nba,126975
External links
- Template:NBA-profile
- Template:Basketball-reference
- ChrisPaul3.com - The Official Website of Chris Paul
- The Official MySpace of Chris Paul
- Chris Paul fan forum
- Chris Paul NBADraft.net profile
- IGN.com: Chris Paul interview
- "Chris Paul", n°18 on Time’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byDavid Wesley | Captain of New Orleans Hornets 2007-present |
Succeeded byIncumbent |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded byEmeka Okafor | NBA Rookie of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded byBrandon Roy |
| Preceded byDwyane Wade | ESPY Award Best Breakthrough Athlete 2006 |
Succeeded byDevin Hester |
| United States men's soccer squad – 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
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| United States squad – 2006 FIBA World Championship – Bronze medal | ||
|---|---|---|
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| NBA Rookie of the Year | |
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| New Orleans Pelicans roster | |
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| NBA 2K | |
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| Sega Sports/ESPN | |
| Take-Two Interactive/2K Sports | |
| Related articles | |
Template:NBAStartingPointGuards
Categories:- Articles needing cleanup from January 2009
- Articles with sections that need to be turned into prose from January 2009
- Articles with trivia sections from January 2009
- 1985 births
- Living people
- African American basketball players
- American basketball players
- American bowling players
- Basketball players from North Carolina
- People from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- People from Charlotte, North Carolina
- Point guards
- New Orleans Hornets draft picks
- New Orleans Hornets players
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players
- McDonald's High School All-Americans
- United States men's national basketball team members
- Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic basketball players of the United States
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States