Though Chris and
brother C.J. both went to West Forsyth High, only once they take the
court together—for 15 seconds at the end of state tournament victory
in 2001. Chris entered the game during garbage time, and CJ had not
yet come out.
Among Chris’s
teammates in the 2003 McDonald’s All-Star Game were LeBron James
and Charlie Villanueva.
During his two
years at Wake Forest, Chris was known as the Mayor of the Winston-Salem
campus.
Chris’s 84
steals in his freshman year at Wake rank second only to Muggsy Bogues
(both 1985 and 1986). His total broke the ACC record for first-year
players by Duke’s Jason Williams.
At Wake, the Paul
family tradition after home games was a meal at IHOP.
In the summer of
2004, Chris worked as a counselor at Michael Jordan’s basketball
camp. One of the thrills of his stint was scrimmaging against his idol.
Chris and C.J.
faced each other once in college, in November of 2004. At the time,
C.J. for the University of South Carolina Upstate.
Before every game,
Chris clutches a laminated copy of his grandfather’s obituary
as the national anthem is played.
Among the rookie
hazing Chris went through with the Hornets was bringing doughnuts to
practice, singing Madonna’s “Vogue” to the entire
team, and carrying the bags of veteran P.J. Brown.
In 2006, Chris established new records for the Rookie Game at All-Star Weekend with 17 assists and nine steals.
Chris was the only unanimous choice for the 2006 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Chris won an ESPY as the Best Breakthrough Athlete of 2006.
Chris dished out 14 assists in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.
Chris had at least one steal in each of the 80 games in which he played during 2007–08.
In 2008, Chris became the first NBA player ever with at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games.
Chris was a First-Team All-Star in 2008. He was the first Hornet ever to earn this honor.
Chris finished second to Kobe Bryant in the 2007–08 MVP voting. He was named First Team All-NBA.
In a December 2008 game, Chris registered a steal in his 108th consecutive game. This set an NBA record.
In a 2008-09 game against the Dallas Mavericks, Chris dribbled the ball through Jason Terry’s legs on his way to a spectacular assist.
Chris was a member of the gold-medal U.S. Olympic squad in 2008. He and Jason Kidd split point guard duty for the “Redeem Team.”
In 2009, Chris joined Diana Taurasi in the new "Got Milk?" campaign.
Chris and Deron Williams have become good friends since the 2005 draft. They text each other frequently and talk about the point guard position.
Chris and Reggie Bush of the Saints use the same personal chef when they are in town.
Chris loves to bowl. He is a spokesman for the US Bowling Congress.
Chris has a crush
on actress Gabrielle Union, one of the stars of Bad Boys II.
Chris has been
going by the nickname “CP3” (Chris Paul #3) since high school.
In 2006, Chris was named by People Magazine as one of the world’s 100 Most Beautiful People.
Chris was the cover athlete for the video game NBA 2K8.
Chris’s favorite
video game as a kid was Virtual Tennis.
Chris describes
his fashion sense as “young-boy fresh.” He says his best
look is dressy jeans, a collared shirt with sweat and a pair of Louis
Vuitton shoes.
In 2007, Paul was a guest on the NPR quiz show "Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me." He got every question right.
Chris is named in rap songs by Ludacris, The Game and Lil Wayne.