When it comes to playoffs, no player has had the kind of luck that Chris Paul has had. The 18-year veteran has seen a lot of ups and downs in the league. He has played with All-Star teammates, and he’s been the franchise player both. However, throughout his 18-year NBA journey, the Larry O’Brien trophy has eluded him. Paul came close when the Suns went up 2-0 on the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo took over that time and denied CP3 his best shot at a ring. Recently, Chris was a guest on the Pivot Podcast. There he shared how his playoff struggles are impacting his family.
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Chris Paul has two children: a son, Chris Jr., who is 14, and a daughter, Camryn, who is 10. Talking about his playoff struggles, CP3 mentioned how it’s impacting his daughter Camryn in school.
Chris Paul shares a troubling incident about Camryn getting trash-talked at school
In most fields, no kid learns about their parent’s failures unless the parent tells them. However, in the world of professional sports, your failures are broadcasted for the world to see. As long as the mockery and the trash talk is limited to the player, it can still be counted as somewhat acceptable. However, what Chris Paul shared was quite harrowing.
CP3 shared how a little boy in his daughter’s school came up to her and said, “Your daddy ain’t never gon’ win no championship.”
Paul had to sit his daughter down and explain to her that in this world, there are two types of people. Some who talk, and others who do. Despite putting on a brave face for Camryn, CP3 knows he can’t sit and grovel about the past.
“As mad as I am and whatnot, I cannot let [my playoff struggles] define me,” Paul says. “I got to get back to work. And I think that’s what’s happened over my career is when those things happen, I take that night to let it process, and then that next morning, I got to get back to work. I work as hard as I can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
With Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, CP3 will have a better shot next year to get back and try and get his first championship.
CP3’s Playoff Injury struggles
Over the years, we’ve seen Chris Paul make the Playoffs several times. However, as luck would have it, the injury bug would always find its way to Paul right when his team needed him the most. Here’s how his injuries tally in the last nine post-seasons (via Sports Injury Central).
- May 2, 2015: left hamstring strain, missed first 2 games of Western Conference Semifinals
- April 25, 2016: broken right hand, missed last 2 games of Western Conference 1st round
- May 24, 2018: right hamstring, missed last two games of Western Conference Finals
- May 23, 2021: right shoulder, didn’t miss time
- June 19, 2021: COVID-19 protocols, missed first two games of Western Conference Finals
- May 1, 2023: Left groin adductor strain, unknown missed time
This has led to a record that no player would want against their names.
While CP3 hopes the record states differently next year, we hope the parents of that little boy sit their child down and teach them how to behave properly. Saying something to Chris Paul’s face is different, but saying it to his 10-year-old daughter? That’s just plain nasty.
