San Antonio Spurs fans won’t have to wait long for the debut of future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, who signed with the team over the summer. Paul was brought in by the Spurs to get their best player, Victor Wembanyama, the ball and few doubt that he can’t still create for others. Still, he was nowhere to be found on CBS’ rankings of the 100 greatest players entering the 2024-25 season.
That seems rather low for him, even though he struggled with injuries and came off the bench last season for the Golden State Warriors. In CBS’s defense, Paul is 40 years old and entering his 20th season in the NBA but it is questionable whether there are 100 players better than him at the moment.
If Wembanyama as well as fourth-year guard Devin Vassell thrive playing next to Paul, which seems likely, then it would disprove CBS’ ranking of him.
The San Antonio Spurs’ Chris Paul has a chance to prove doubters’ wrong next season.
San Antonio struggled to get their best player the ball for most of last season but shouldn’t have that problem in 2024-25 with the additional Paul. Although Paul would likely only play around 26 minutes a game, he is projected to start alongside Wembanyama and will probably play most of his minutes with him.
Add in that the Spurs retained guard Tre Jones, who was their best player at getting Wembanyama the ball, and the Spurs should have a capable passer to set him up for all 48 minutes. Paul, in particular, should have a field day setting Wembanyama up for lobs in the pick and roll. Much like he did earlier in his career with Tyson Chandler in New Orleans, then Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan with the Clippers, followed by DeAndre Ayton in Phoenix.
Unlike them, Wembanyama can step out and knock down threes, which gives both Paul and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich more options. If Paul has the same impact as in his previous stops, then San Antonio will have a chance to make the play-in or even the playoffs next season.
With them having missed the playoffs for the last five seasons, Paul helping lead them back to the postseason would prove that he is still one of the better players in the league. Given that he was the Spurs’ big free agent signing, they are banking on it.
