After years of battling against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, Chris Paul is now officially on the squad.
The 12-time NBA All-Star and future Basketball Hall of Famer was officially introduced as a member of the Warriors on Sunday. But Paul’s connection with Curry goes way back to before the latter was in the NBA.
It remains to be seen if Paul will start or come off the bench.
“It’ll be a conversation when camp starts,” Paul told the media. “Me and Steve (Kerr) have talked, but that ain’t something where it’s, ‘What up, man? You starting or coming off the bench.”
Paul talked about his connection with Curry, which is even deeper than basketball. Both men grew up in North Carolina. The Currys (Stephen and Ayesha) attended the wedding of the Pauls (Chris and Jada) and vice versa. Curry even played in Paul’s charity all-star game at Winston-Salem State back in 2011.
“It’s cool, I’ve been a part of his journey and he’s been a part of mine,” Paul said via NBC Bay Area. “Before his rookie year he traveled with me and my family. I know his dad, family and all that. Kids and everything. It’s been so dope to see. Him, Seth and all that, and we’re crazy competitors — as we should be. There are times where you get to reflect, a text here and there congratulating each other. Even working out today, we were just laughing. I don’t think we’ve worked out together since 2009. It’s a great opportunity and a blessing to still be doing this at our ages, because he ain’t young either.”
Chris Paul is 38 and has been traded multiple times, including twice this summer, as he looks for his first NBA title. Curry, 35, is a four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP with the only organization he has played for in his pro career. Both men have gone up against each other many times over the years, but worked out together for the first time since 2009 recently.
“Weren’t a lot of misses,” Paul said of how the workout went.