Chris Paul has already won the hearts of a couple of Spurs legends, he revealed in his introductory press conference in San Antonio.
The 12-time All-Star said he got texts from Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili once the trade went public and it got him even more excited to be part of the team.
CP3 could have played closer to his home in the LA area where his family resides and chase a championship, but he was willing sacrifice those things for minutes.
“My family is everything. My wife is here, my kids are back in L.A., and that’s where they will be during the season,” Paul said. “And I love basketball so much that I could be close to home, but if I’m not playing, I’m not happy.
“And I love my family to death. So, when we saw this opportunity, even though it’ll put me away from my family, my family knows me better than anybody and they know that I just want to play. I want to play more than anything. And that’s why I’m grateful for them and more so grateful to be here.”
Paul is known for improving every teams’ winning percentage he’s ever played on, and since San Antonio finished with the second worst record in the league in 2023-24, his help will no doubt be welcomed.
“I always say I hate to lose more than I like to win,” he said.
The 34-year-old has also mentored a fair few young NBA stars in his time and now he will team up with generational talent Victor Wembanyama.
But humbly, Paul is excited for what he can learn from young players.
“That’s probably been the coolest thing about my career is that, yeah, I’ve went to some teams that are younger or whatnot, but I’m constantly learning from these guys,” Paul said.
“I got a chance to play with [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] in his second year in the league, and I got a chance to learn from him. I got a chance to learn from [Devin Booker], Mikal Bridges and all those guys. So, I’m excited to share with these guys what I know and whatever they want to know, but I’m also excited to see what I can learn from them.”
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