Chris Paul is one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA. Most players in the league would testify they dread playing against the guard due to his penchant for trash-talking and his ability to mess with their psyche. On the flip side, his teammates would admit he’s among the impactful players they have shared the locker room with. Draymond Green, who despised the veteran before he played with him, did it. Cam Johnson too enjoyed his three-year stint as Paul’s teammate and waxed poetic about the veteran PG’s amazing ability to read the game.
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The Nets star revealed that the veteran is a savant of the game. Nothing slips by him or surprises him because he’s meticulous in his preparation. He detailed his experience playing alongside Paul on the Young Man and The Three podcast, saying,
“The biggest is his approach… He pays attention to every little detail on the court and off the court. Off the court, his lifting protocol, his treatment protocol, his stretching protocol, his nutrition is all very regimented… On the court, he analyzes the h*ll out of every play and he’s able to process it at a high level… So he can puppet the game.”
Johnson added that Paul would yell instructions at him on the court and teach him the ropes while he was orchestrating the offense. He has the skill and versatility to do both. The Nets star enjoyed his time sharing the floor with the veteran and knew it would be a terrific experience right from the get-go.
Nothing about Chris Paul surprised Cam Johnson
At the end of his sophomore season in 2021, Johnson appeared on The Herd and was asked whether anything about Paul, who joined the team in 2020, surprised him. He replied,
“No, he’s exactly what you think he’d be. I remember playing against him last year in the Bubble. And he was just talking. Talking to everybody. Talking to refs, talking to our coaches, and our players, talking to his teammates. And I’m like, ‘Man this guy talks a lot.’ So that’s exactly what I expected him to be like. And he’s like that… And it’s very helpful.”
Paul’s inquisitiveness is one of his best traits. He’s always trying to gather knowledge and plotting ways to use it to his advantage. When he’s not harassing opponents and is sitting on the bench, he closely observes his opponents to identify patterns and tendencies that he can exploit.
As physical as basketball is, it’s also a thinking man’s game. And Chris Paul is among the smartest to have ever played it at the highest level.
