Chris Paul says he’s in San Antonio to inspire teammates to believe in themselves

As we’ve grown accustomed to in the past years, the Spurs 2024-25 season has been full of inconsistencies, despite showing some improvements in comparison to last year. One of the biggest changes in their roster came in the form of a veteran called Chris Paul, once well-known as the “Point God”. 

Today, the 39-year-old is not only contributing on the court, but mostly inside the locker room, holding players up to their potential and keeping their eyes on the prize. The team is currently trying their best to play without Victor Wembanyama, who fell to injury and has missed the past two matches, but somehow they were able to beat the mighty Thunder this week.

Once the game was over, Paul addressed those who doubt the San Antonio’s chances this season. “I don’t know what playing for nothing means,” he after the win at the AT&T Center, pointing out at critics who believe the Spurs objectives are only concentrated on the long-term.

"I'm just grateful to be able to teach, help however I can."

CP3 embracing the mentor role in San Antonio 💪 pic.twitter.com/mvr9HGvyRC

— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2024

The veteran talked about his approach this season. “You know what I mean? Luckily, every year—championship or not—teams I’ve been on have been competitive,” the guard explained, also insinuating how the squad will continue to push for the playoffs this season.

“I wanted to come here and just bring that mindset, bring that attitude, and let these guys know that to win games, first and foremost, they’ve got to believe,” Chris said while embracing his role as a leader in San Antonio. Against OKC, he posted 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists in 31 minutes.

That night, the squad rallied around their veteran All-Star to compensate the absence of Wembanyama, Devin Vassell Jeremy Sochan. Paul inspired the Spurs, who saw seven of their players score in double figures, with special mentions to Keldon Johnson’s 22 points and Harrison Barnes with 20 to his name.

“That’s the thing we’ve been preaching all season long,” he said about playing as a team, even without their main stars. “It’s great to see when the guys put in the work how it pays off.”

Just 13 games into the NBA season, Paul and Wembanyama admit they’re still engaged in the learning stage of a partnership

While Wembanyama continues to recover from his right knee contusion and missed a third match this Thursday agains the Jazz, everyone around knows that the French big man is improving rapidly in the NBA, especially after his career-high 50-point performance against the Wizards on November 13.

“We share a lot of similarities in our view of basketball,” Victor said about his partnership with Paul. “The biggest thing is his knowledge of the pick-and-roll. I’m just trying to apply what he sees and experiment, also telling him what I like. He’s telling me what he likes, what we don’t like. I think it’s a very healthy relationship because we see basketball pretty much the same way.”

Even though they’ve only shared an NBA court for less than a dozen times, we’ve seen Paul already assisting on 98 of Wembanyama’s 295 points this year, which are the most points assisted by one passer to a scorer this season, according to ESPN Research.

In spite of this, the Rookie of the Year believes they can improve. “The most important thing is he’s willing to tell us things,” Wembanyama said. “Every practice, he gives us feedback on what he used to do, how defenses played them usually, how we can get more space. He’s approaching this in a very unselfish way.”