“Chris Paul will be one of the best point guards in our game for a long time”: When Steve Nash was all praises for a rookie CP3 before he broke the Nets head coach’s assists record

Akash Murty | 05/11/2021
"Chris Paul will be one of the best point guards in our game for a long time": When Steve Nash was all praises for a rookie CP3 before he broke the Nets head coach's assists record

Chris Paul impressed everyone, including Steve Nash, as a rookie. The Suns’ legend was in awe of the Point God’s complete game. 

Chris Paul has had roller-coaster seasons in the NBA since his trade from the LA Clippers. His time with the Houston Rockets was rocky to say the least, when he was traded to Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019, his contract was simply called the “worst deal in the NBA”.

Since then the 36-year-old, upon 2 All-Star seasons and a Finals trip, re-signed with Phoenix this offseason for a reported four years and $120 million. Be it the latter portion of that contract may not be a guarantee, it solidified Chris Paul’s name “Point God”.

Also read: “It’s an honor, a privilege and I’m grateful”: Chris Paul expresses his true emotions after passing Steve Nash to become the 3rd highest assists leader in NBA history

When a young franchise like Phoenix Suns who only once came close to qualifying for the playoffs (2020) in a long while goes to the Finals (2021), it does not need to sign a 36 year to a 4-year contract the very next season. They consider him a big part of their win-now plan. And although the Suns are having a pretty average start to the season this year, Chris Paul is looking as hungry as he was in his rookie season to make it big.

Phoenix Suns legend Steve Nash envisioned CP3’s success in his rookie year.

Steve Nash was heavily impressed by Chris Paul in his rookie year

Chris Paul was a 4th overall pick in the 2005 draft. The 20-year old rookie already played like a veteran when he came into the league as per another legendary point guard, Steve Nash.

 

Not only would his prediction come true, ironically CP3 would cross Steve himself on the all-time assists leader. Obviously unaware of the fact that he himself would end up being in top-3 assist leaders of the NBA, Steve Nash would never have thought that Chris would cross him in that ranking.

Steve Nash had a tremendous NBA career. He was named league MVP twice, 5-time assist leader, 8-time All-Star, and 7 All-NBA teams, averaging 14.3 points and 8.5 assists per game.

Chris is a better overall player than Nash but couldn’t win any MVPs. He made it to 11 All-Star appearances, 10 All NBA teams, and 9 All Defensive teams. The 4-time assists and 6-time steals leader also averages 18.3 points a game to go along with 9.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds.

Paul scores way more points than most of the traditional point-guards while not compromising any of the traditional skills. He also became the only point guard in the NBA to have over 20,000 points and 10,000 assists recently.

Also read: “Chris Paul creates a category of his own!”: Phoenix Suns star becomes the first person in NBA history to score 20k points and register 10k assists

Man has really transcended from point guard to point god. And he is having time of his life with Devin Booker and Co. Already having achieved most of Nash’s accolades he would surely want to 1 up him on Championships.

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
Chris Paul Phoenix Suns steve nash

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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