“Chris Paul is a fierce competitor”: LeBron James gives Suns superstar his flowers ahead of the Lakers Playoff matchup against Devin Booker and co

LeBron James commends Chris Paul for being a fierce competitor and says he looks forward to matching up against him. 

The Los Angeles Lakers booked a trip to the NBA Playoffs after having beat an injury riddled Golden State Warriors team in dramatic fashion. With the game on the line and the shot clock winding down, LeBron James let fly one of the greatest shots of his career; a 30-foot bomb, to send Steph Curry and co to the last play in game. 

With James and Davis now cementing themselves as the 7th seed out West, they’ll be facing off against Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns. This would mark the second time in LeBron James’s career where he’s matched up against a fellow ‘Banana Boat’ member as he’s played and beaten Carmelo Anthony in the Eastern and Western Conference Playoffs.

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CP3 and LBJ are quite close knit off the court as they came into the league at relatively the same time, 2005 and 2003, respectively. Fast-forward a decade-plus worth of NBA basketball, the two future Hall-of-Famers will go head to head in a 7-game series. 

LeBron James is looking forward to playing against Chris Paul and the Suns. 

Considering how close Paul and James are to one another, trash talking from either side wasn’t really expected. There may be moments on the court or during postgame availability that may result in some light-hearted back and forth banter but with Rajon Rondo on the Clippers now, the series may very well be a respectable one. 

“It’s a beautiful thing, our journeys. We’ve been playing this game at such a high level for a long time. I’ve always rooted for him, for D-Wade, for Melo to succeed. Got an opportunity to play against Melo in the Playoffs a few times. Never got an opportunity to play against D-Wade in the postseason but we had a great 4-year run in Miami.” 

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“It’s going to be pretty cool just to be on the same floor and competing against one of the fiercest competitors that this game has had over his career. Look forward to the matchup.” 

In the 3 games the Suns have played against the Lakers, they’ve not been able to contain their offense on the inside nor on the outside. The purple and gold have shot 58% from 5 feet and within and nearly 43% from beyond the arc in those three games. Expect to see big minutes from guys like DeAndre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.