Chris Paul, the missing link for Wembanyama and the Spurs?

In the offseason, the San Antonio Spurs brought in Chris Paul, one of the best point guards in the NBA over the last 20 years. At 39, he will be able to bring all his experience and leadership to Victor Wembanyama’s team. To the point of taking the Texan franchise to a real level?

San Antonio Spurs fans have been viewing this action all summer. With their eyes closed, they imagined Chris Paul, ball in hand, taking advantage of a screen from Victor Wembanyama before seeing the veteran leader serve the French giant in the air. A pick & roll school, punctuated, at random, by a devastating dunk from the rookie of the year. As “Wemby” and “CP3” are men of the people, the two Spurs players didn’t even wait until the end of the first quarter of their very first game together to give the crowd what they expected.

On the night of Wednesday October 10 to Thursday October 11, on the occasion of their big pre-season debut, against the Orlando Magic (107-97 victory), the interior and the leader of the Spurs gratified the public of the Frost Bank Center, weaned from basketball for six months, with a first burst of brilliance, with Chris Paul at the helm and Victor Wembanyama at the conclusion of a alley-oop seen millions of times on social networks.

An XXL career

It was obviously just a pre-season game. But the two men have already given a glimpse of the sparks that their duo could create. Arriving in the offseason, Chris Paul, free after the end of his contract with the Golden State Warriors, is one of the main curiosities of the San Antonio Spurs version 2024-2025. With a central question: can he take the Texans, penultimate in the Western Conference last season (22 wins, 60 losses) to a new level?

By bringing in Chris Paul, the Spurs are simply offering themselves one of the best leaders of the last 20 years in the NBA. Arriving in the league in 2005, the North Carolina native has 12 All Star Game selections, four appearances on the All NBA First Team (the best five in the NBA) and three best passer titles (2008, 2009, 2010). Very close to being voted best NBA player in 2010 (second in the MVP ranking behind Kobe Bryant), he is also the first player in history to have combined 20,000 points and 10,000 assists.

Over the course of his career, he has built a reputation as a conductor capable of providing decisive passes while losing very few balls, which demonstrates extreme cleanliness. Author of a match with 20 points, 20 assists and 0 lost balls (December 2016 with the Los Angeles Clippers), unheard of in the history of the league, Chris Paul even inherited the nickname “Point God“, a play on words in reference to his position (“point guard“, playmaker in English) and a mastery that would make him a player touched by grace, even a model to follow (“god“=Dieu).

In attack, a little order in the middle of the happy mess of the 2023-2024 season

In short, Chris Paul is a reference to his position. And that’s good, it’s precisely in this sector that the Spurs had big gaps last season. In 2023-2024, the position of leader was shared between Tre Jones, whom many observers consider to be a good replacement but too tight to be a starter, and Jeremy Sochan, tested in this position which is absolutely not his, him the trained strong winger. Result: Victor Wembanyama was not served enough in good conditions and the Frenchman too often gave the impression of evolving in the middle of a happy mess.

“Of the 60 games lost last season, there were a lot of them due to bad decisions at the end of the match, bad choices. Chris Paul will bring that back: the right shot, the right pass, announcing the right system at the right time “, underlines Stephen Brun, basketball consultant for RMC Sport, in the Basket Time podcast. “He will also guide Wembanyama on the court, so that Victor does not wander into every corner of the floor. Thanks to Chris Paul, Wembanyama will have many more easy situations, many more simple baskets.”

“Chris Paul, as soon as he arrives in a team, he makes the team even better than before,” validates Frédéric Weis, also basketball consultant for RMC Sport. “Victor will erase imperfections because there will be Chris Paul next to him. Chris Paul will be able to take the ball where he needs to.”

Accustomed to making interiors shine

On paper, “CP3” therefore appears to be the perfect complement to Wembanyama, this collective leader capable of making the French superstar in the making shine as it should. During his career, all the interiors that worked with Chris Paul showed themselves to be particularly efficient. Pivots like DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers), Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets) and Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns) posted their best career points averages when they played alongside Chris Paul, capable of sublimating any player over 2.10m tall thanks to his famous lofted passes above the defense. With this in mind, the association with Victor Wembanyama, 2.24m under the height and unique agility for a player of his size, makes you fantasize.

The most skeptical will highlight the age of Chris Paul. At the dawn of his 20th season in the NBA, the leader, with nearly 1,300 games under his belt, obviously no longer has the legs of his 20s. Not even his 30 years. But like LeBron James who notably chose him to be the godfather of his son, a certain Bronny James, the leader knew how to take care of his body and displays remarkable longevity. Last season, he played just over 26 minutes on average per game with the Golden State Warriors. Honorable playing time, even if he notably missed nearly two months of competition between January and March due to a broken hand.

A mentor for Wembanyama

But for Chris Paul and the Spurs, the main issue is not how many minutes the veteran will spend on the floor. The leader is above all expected for his experience and for his ability to transmit to the young Spurs everything he learned during two decades in the NBA. “He perfectly supervises the youngest, he makes them feel good about themselves,” says Gregg Popovich.

“Sometimes I’m just fascinated just listening to him give advice to his teammates. And I tell myself that I should have thought of that…” adds the Spurs coach.

Former president of the players’ association, a central position he held for eight years between 2013 and 2021, Chris Paul is a listened and respected voice in the NBA. Even if he could sometimes be described as a divisive and selfish player. “Some guys probably think it’s hard to play with me. I try to always compete at the highest level, be a good teammate. If you can handle that, cool. If you can’t? I do that that I can”, he said in particular in 2019.

But the volcanic leader knew how to add water to his wine as he aged. During the 2019-2020 season, he became a mentor to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City, where his professionalism and leadership impressed. “What gets a lot of attention, because he is so vocal, is what he says, and there is a lot of wisdom in his words,” said Mark Daigneault, Thunder coach. “But the way he prepares every day to play basketball at a high level is more subtle but more striking. And his competitive spirit is just as much: during the game, his life revolves only around basketball because he expects to win every game he plays.”

“He’s not going to take a day off.”

Despite this competitive mentality, the title of NBA champion has always eluded him. However, he came very close during the 2021-2022 season. Promoted to Devin Booker’s lieutenant with the Phoenix Suns, he ultimately failed in the NBA Finals against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks.

In Arizona, his competitive mentality once again made an impression. “I remember at the start of the season, we were talking about the playoffs and Chris yelled in the locker room, like: ’16 teams make the playoffs, that’s not our goal!’ Seeing that energy and his passion when he said that, I said to myself: ‘Okay, we’re on the same wavelength.'” Devin Booker confided at the end of this 2021-2022 season. “And there’s his mentality… He’s not going to take a day off, he’s not going to rest on the slightest possession. He inspires me in so many ways,” continued Devin Booker, admirer. “With Chris, his impact goes beyond just stats. People need to understand that. His impact isn’t just in points and assists, he keeps players on track on a daily basis and that alone should put him in the discussion for the MVP award every year.” A declaration of love that says a lot about bringing a CP3 into a locker room.

After just one pre-season match, Victor Wembanyama was able to realize what the presence of the leader at his side changes. “Being on the floor with him, you have the impression that he has everything under control. It’s really reassuring. He’s an extra teammate on whom I can count in moments of doubt or difficult moments “, underlined the French interior.

Enough to reach the playoffs?

With the arrival of Chris Paul, Victor Wembanyama would therefore have found his mentor, a leader as well capable of putting him in the best positions on the floor as of teaching him all the tricks of an NBA that he masters to the end fingers. To the point of imagining the Spurs taking a very big step and being candidates for the playoffs? “THE gap seems too important to me. There will be progress, that’s clear. But the other teams seem superior to me on paper,” tempers Stephen Brun. “Last year, the Warriors, last qualified for the play-in, had 46 victories. That would mean that Spurs have to win 24 more than last year (22 wins, Editor’s note), more than double.”

The sole arrival of Chris Paul will therefore have difficulty moving the Spurs into another dimension. The Texans, who also recruited the experienced Harrison Barnes, are starting too far, and the youth of the squad will require a little patience before imagining Gregg Popovich’s men tickling the first part of the Western table .

But the leader should undoubtedly improve the Texan team. “Impossible for the playoffs, but I really like this team,” agrees Fred Weis. “Stephon Castle, drafted in fourth position and brought to the point guard position, will be able to grow under the tutelage of Chris Paul… It’s super interesting.” One more reason, as if another was needed, to await with excitement Wembanyama’s second year in the NBA.