Old man CP3 just keeps proving the haters wrong

Donovan Dooley|published: Tue 8th June, 14:32 2021

Chris Paul is not too old to take over a game. source: Getty Images

Chris Paul deserves every single one of his flowers.

The 36-year-old guard just made history last night in Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets. After a mostly quiet first-half performance, Chris Paul showed us vintage CP3 in the third and fourth quarter to help elevate the Suns to the win.

In the process, he became the first old man (36 or older) to have 20 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds in a playoff game according to StatMuse. ESPN Stats and Info said that Paul joined Steve Nash and John Stockton as players 36 years or older with 20 points and 10 assists in the past 30 years.

If the Suns make it to the NBA Finals this season, Paul’s story of resilience should be celebrated. Not only was he battling a shoulder injury in the first round versus the defending champion Lakers, but this whole season he proved just how valuable he was to a contending team when the league tried to throw him away with the trash.

Paul elevated himself to a player who was in discussions for the league MVP and resurrected the Phoenix Suns from mediocrity to the upper echelon of the NBA.

After his time with Houston and James Harden, many people around the league felt like Paul would no longer be a dominant player in the league. He then went to OKC and led a team that had no business being good to a playoff berth in 2020.

Now he’s in the Valley of the Sun and giving folks work on a team that looks like it could win a title if everything falls into place for them.

It’s hard to root against that man this year, every time people try to count him out he keeps proving them wrong. It’s beautiful to see, and I hope I get to see it for another month and a half.