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I know he was injured multiple times in the playoffs - and I know we're witnessing LeBron hooping after 40 or Durant averaging 27 a game as a 36yo after torn achilles injury -- but CP3s longevity is also elite, especially for players playing on his position.

- 2nd best player on solid Spurs team despite being 40yo on May,
- 49th in EPM, 44th in BPM, +11 on/off -- steady strong starter impact,
- already 21st in number of career games played, can surpass Kobe (#16) at the end of the season -- 4th among PGs,
- surpassed Kidd this season in number of career assists (#2) and will do it very soon in steals (also #2 behind Stockton soon) -- 2nd among PGs,
- can surpass KG this season in career VORP (#4) -- 1st among PGs,
- can surpass MJ this season in career WS (#5) -- 1st among PGs,
- he was also #7, #5 and #9 as a 35-37yo in MVP voting and one of the best players when Suns made it to the finals as a 36yo,
- most importantly - he was such a great fit for young teams needing expertise and veteran presence (Thunder, Suns, now Spurs).

It is nearly impossible for anyone to improve his resume late after 30s, but in fact I think about CP3 in higher standards after him being traded by Rockets than I did earlier. Not necessarily about his prime, but clearly about his portability, versatility and him being a great teammate. In another thread, there was a discussion about Jordan's impact on Pippen's growth - CP3 definitely needs even more credit in helping in growth of Booker, SGA and now Wemby (so potentially two MVPs one day), especially considering how complimentary they all were and are about playing with Paul.

Wemby is 39pts/100 possessions on 60 TS% with CP3 on a court and 32 pts/100 possessions on 61TS% without him. Wembanyama and CP3 are also +9 net together on a court and we're talking about soon-to-be 40yo dude. Obviously, CP3 isn't a good defender anymore and sometimes he can't score anything - but he's still pretty solid. And yeah, that's the help in growth that we can easily measure, as he just makes Wemby's life much easier so far.

Shoutout to Chris Paul.

He hasn't won the big one but they guy is a winner and has consistently contributed to winning throughout his career.

Thought he was a great fit for the Spurs and it's playing out exactly that way.

I've been saying all season that aside from Victor's ascendance, he is easily the main reason Spurs are a respectable team this season versus bottom of the barrel and he has been the teams second best player all year. He's been damn good and aside from the fact that he can't get by anyone at all anymore, he seems just as useful on the court as he's always been. And while his defense isn't as good anymore because he lacks the quickness he used to have he is still very active and quite pesky on that end

He is an all-time competitor, that’s for sure, which is just what the young Spurs needed.
Tons of respect for him. Still kind of a prick though lol

CP3 has been wonderful and a great teacher to the youngsters on the Spurs.

Also, gotta give a shout out to Harrison Barnes. Far better than I expected this season.

Bornstellar wrote:I've been saying all season that aside from Victor's ascendance, he is easily the main reason Spurs are a respectable team this season versus bottom of the barrel and he has been the teams second best player all year. He's been damn good and aside from the fact that he can't get by anyone at all anymore, he seems just as useful on the court as he's always been. And while his defense isn't as good anymore because he lacks the quickness he used to have he is still very active and quite pesky on that end

Yeah.

+ thanks to CP3, Spurs can play bigger minutes with Castle, who is as streaky as talented - because CP3 can easily operate as a playmaker/spot up shooter and he doesn't need too many touches, so they coalesce well. Castle is 48%TS scorer and it doesn't affect Spurs THAT MUCH thanks to Paul, another plus for the Spurs.

Honestly aside from Wemby and CP3 the Spurs roster is quite pitiable.

Sochan is decent but he has missed a lot of games. Everyone else is average or below average.

CP3 >>>>>>> Kevin Durant.

His impact on winning basketball games is so much higher. I wish they didn't trade him away.

I think when it’s all said and done, he’ll have a great case for being the best player who never won a championship OR a regular season MVP.

But ultimately, one part of his legacy that he should get extra props for is how he managed to elevate younger teams later in his career.

He played a huge part building a winning culture in OKC that’s continued to grow after him. He played a huge part in elevating the Suns who were dysfunctional for years before him. And he is playing a huge part in starting what should be a decade of winning seasons for the Spurs and Wembys career.

Was he the main reason for all of those turnarounds? No..he arguably wasn’t the main reason for any of them. But he was a top contributing factor, and he deserves a lot of props for that, on the tail end of an already HOF worthy career.

And this is coming from someone who has been thoroughly annoyed by CP3 for close to 20 years now

absurdly good player for a really long time only hurt by narratives most of which aren't of any merits. This dude got every bit of ability his body had to offer and only Jason Kidd rivals him for just being the smartest guy on the court at both ends in basically every game he ever played. Just a basketball genius.

I think CP3 wins his first championship as a coach. Maybe he succeeds Pop in San Antonio, who knows.

CIN-C-STAR wrote:He is an all-time competitor, that’s for sure, which is just what the young Spurs needed.
Tons of respect for him. Still kind of a prick though lol

So true, it's like as soon as competition starts, the guy is a whole different person, definitely a prick, but also an excellent player who can fit into so many situations.

I remember when he went to Houston and people were saying there's only one ball, but since I had seen him as a Clipper, I knew the fit would work. Now it didn't work the next season due to some personality and accountability issues with James, but actual on court, they put together a pretty too tier season as a duo.

Then he went to OKC and did it with two other ball handles and helped elevate a young team.

Then he went to Phoenix and helped continue what Rubio was doing, but better as he was a better player.

He's a guy who has done well as a floor raiser and a ceiling raiser, with younger teams, older teams, as mentor, etc, but man, I just can't trust his body to hold up through the intensity of a long playoff run, there's always something.

I still remember the stupid Deron>Paul debates.

He has been slow, steady and reliable.

I am glad he is on this Spurs team.

Maybe he could be a coach someday

I think he's a real weasel but I cannot deny his leadership and skill. I'm sure I'd love him if he was on my team.

Another thing to add to your list is that he leads the league in AST/TO ratio, by a considerable margin, for anyone with a decent number of assists.

Woodsanity wrote:Honestly aside from Wemby and CP3 the Spurs roster is quite pitiable.

Sochan is decent but he has missed a lot of games. Everyone else is average or below average.

Sochan is decent, Vassell will be good once healthy and in rhythm, Castle is reaaaally raw but really talented - but it seems that Spurs wasted most of their mid-first rounders (Wesley, Branham, Primo, Samanic; Keldon is also a random player tbh), so they got better thanks to Wemby and vets rather then growth of young guys (although Champagnie is serviceable and Sochan has made a big leap vs last season, but he missed like half of the games already).

That's something they'll have to focus on mor in the next years, they need OKC-like work (Jalen) to get even remotely close to them - and they may have two late lottery/mid-first rounders in the next draft.

Great regular season player.

TheHartBreakKid wrote:I think when it’s all said and done, he’ll have a great case for being the best player who never won a championship OR a regular season MVP.

But ultimately, one part of his legacy that he should get extra props for is how he managed to elevate younger teams later in his career.

He played a huge part building a winning culture in OKC that’s continued to grow after him. He played a huge part in elevating the Suns who were dysfunctional for years before him. And he is playing a huge part in starting what should be a decade of winning seasons for the Spurs and Wembys career.

Was he the main reason for all of those turnarounds? No..he arguably wasn’t the main reason for any of them. But he was a top contributing factor, and he deserves a lot of props for that, on the tail end of an already HOF worthy career.

And this is coming from someone who has been thoroughly annoyed by CP3 for close to 20 years now

Outside of Houston and Golden State, he WAS the main reason for all those teams improving with his addition the following year.

TheHartBreakKid wrote:I think when it’s all said and done, he’ll have a great case for being the best player who never won a championship OR a regular season MVP.

But ultimately, one part of his legacy that he should get extra props for is how he managed to elevate younger teams later in his career.

He played a huge part building a winning culture in OKC that’s continued to grow after him. He played a huge part in elevating the Suns who were dysfunctional for years before him. And he is playing a huge part in starting what should be a decade of winning seasons for the Spurs and Wembys career.

Was he the main reason for all of those turnarounds? No..he arguably wasn’t the main reason for any of them. But he was a top contributing factor, and he deserves a lot of props for that, on the tail end of an already HOF worthy career.

And this is coming from someone who has been thoroughly annoyed by CP3 for close to 20 years now

Outside of Houston and Golden State, he WAS the main reason for all those teams improving with his addition the following year.

It's kind of crazy how impactful he still is and the nights that where has been the only one to consistently create his own shot in crunch time. I thought he would've helped Tre elevate his game but he's had a rather disappointing season for the Spurs.

I’ll never forgive CP for tricking the league into thinking Devin Booker was anything but a glorified Zach Lavine. CP was solely responsible for the Suns’ success.

uncleduck13 wrote:I’ll never forgive CP for tricking the league into thinking Devin Booker was anything but a glorified Zach Lavine. CP was solely responsible for the Suns’ success.

I doubt you can find even 5 people that agree with this.