Getty Chris Paul #3 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena.
Golden State Warriors‘ 38-year-old point guard Chris Paul, who just returned from a broken hand after missing 21 games, still believes he will win a championship before his career is over.
But even without it, he feels secure about his place in the history of the game.
“Straight up – even though I think I’m gonna win a championship before I’m done – yes, absolutely,” Paul said in this week’s episode of the iHeartPodcasts series The Why with Dwyane Wade. “I can’t even process not winning a championship right now. That’s literally how I’m built. But I love what I’ve been able to do with my career. And I was probably a lot more stressed about that once upon a time.”
But whether that championship will come with the Warriors or another team remains to be seen.
He has a $30 million non-guaranteed salary for next season, which the Warriors are likely not to pick up as they seek to go under the luxury tax for the first time in years.
Chris Paul-Klay Thompson 2nd Unit Backcourt
Paul returned victorious as he forged a Hall of Fame backcourt partnership with Klay Thompson in the team’s second unit as the duo led the Warriors to a 123-112 win against the Washington Wizards on a night when Stephen Curry could not buy a basket in the first half.
Despite a diminished role at his age, Paul, a 12-time All-Star point guard, can still impact the game in a major way.
Paul did exactly like that in the second half when he came in and led the Warriors to a 17-2 run that broke the game wide open.
“We’ve been playing pretty well over the last month or so,” Kerr told reporters at Capital One Arena. “But we’ve really been looking forward to getting Chris back. You could see why tonight. He’s a plus-17 in 21 minutes, always in control of the game. The way we closed the third quarter was really important, and he was at the helm.”
Paul finished with 9 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals while he constantly fed Thompson, who exploded for 25 to lead all Warriors scorers. Paul and Thompson led the Warriors’ second unit to a staggering 59 points against the Wizards’ 15 bench points.
Curry wound up with 18 points, all in the second half.
Andrew Wiggins Away From Team for Personal Reasons
Warriors’ starting forward Andrew Wiggins will miss his second straight game this Thursday, February 29, against the New York Knicks due to personal reasons.
“We do expect him to be back but we just don’t exactly know when,” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game on Wednesday, February 28. “We’re in a position where Wiggs is a private person and he’s asked to keep it private and we’re gonna honor that. So it doesn’t help for me to sit here and try to explain any of that. The bottom line is we respect Wiggs, we need him and we fully expect him back, but we just don’t know when that will be.”
Wiggins also missed two months last season due to undisclosed personal reasons. He was the subject of trade rumors early in the season due to his struggles. But he had regained his rhythm after he remained with the team past the trade deadline.