Just before Devin Booker got up to finish his post-game video conference on Monday, he had one more thing he wanted to say. First he had to call the ball.
Someone in the room turned to him, and as Booker caught her, he let out a megawatt grin.
“Yes, here he is, everyone!” he said, shoving the ball under his arm. “It’s happening on Ebay for a million!”
The ball belonged to Chris Paul, who was shown in the locker room after the Phoenix Suns’ 128-127 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, where he passed NBA icon Magic Johnson in fifth place on the all-time list . Booker, who was on the other end of the assist, then gave the ball back to Paul. And Paul said he had somewhere in mind that he wanted to send her.
“The first thing I’m going to do is send this ball to Magic and see if he signs it for me,” Paul said.
It was a night of celebration and reflection for the Suns, Paul’s personal achievements scoring one of the team’s biggest collective nights of the season. The win in Milwaukee was not only one of the best games of the NBA season, but it also provided a kind of statement that the young teams in the making are longing for.
“It was all about the playoffs,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Emotion. Physically. Players playing games. Late situations. It was all that. The endurance and tireless attitude we showed on the stretch, on the road, during the overtime, says a lot about the character of the boys in our locker room. “
The Suns shook the ball in Orlando last summer with their 8-0 run, preparing the table for a promising season to come. Williams had a renewed culture, with an emphasis on development, detail and defense. Suddenly, the Suns had some expectations.
Then they added Paul.
“I don’t have enough time to talk about everything he did,” Williams said. “He brought such – he improved the winning mentality. All our boys want to win. But when you see a guy who did it from afar and then you look at how he does it, from his diet to the exercise routine he has in every day, and then in the game, when he’s able to be in those situations and really raise the level of our team, it’s pretty cool to look. “
The dear bubble phase is over, though. You get the feeling that the Sun is a little tired of talking about this. They had a nice run last summer in Orlando, Florida, restarting. They were good then. They think they can be great now.
“Yes,” Booker said bluntly when asked if that’s what he imagined after Phoenix added Paul. “Straight up.”
Paul has a long driving experience. His skill set extends beyond the floor, with the cerebral approach to the game and the ability to communicate with teammates and force accountability. These things are known. But he had to reclaim his reputation with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, unlikely to lead them to a 5-seed in the west, and with the Thunder ready to embark on a rebuild, Paul identified the Suns as the next team. which he could pick up.
“I could stay here all day and tell you story after story,” Williams said of Paul’s impact. “It definitely helps me as a coach. Our in-game conversations allow us to make a few games that we probably wouldn’t be able to do if I didn’t have that synergy with him.”
Paul is the constant rhythm of the sun, the metronome that is ticked to maintain consistency. Young teams can travel on the wave of a season or even a game, disturbed by lost rates, dramas or deficits. Paul is rarely shaken and is the weighted blanket for every stress point. Either it’s a reassuring middle jumper to stop a run, or to make a mistake to prevent the impulse, or to pull Booker aside for a quick, walking guide, as he did on Monday, after Bucris’ Khris Middleton drilled a late 3 in front of him, Paul picking up his spots.
“Paying attention to detail. Approaching the game in the right way. Seeing the little things and just thinking ahead,” said Deandre Ayton, Suns. “I’m not thinking like a normal basketball player, I’m thinking ahead and I know what the team’s trends are and how we can get better, how else we can change an offense or a defense. Announcing things early. Awareness of any little thing.”
“He really brings out the best in people,” Ayton added. “He wants what’s best for you and he’ll talk to you, he’ll teach you. And it’s just about how much player you’re bought to help the team.”
Moments like Paul going through Magic mastering the reverence and respect he commands in Phoenix’s young locker room. It’s a Hall of Famer waiting and every player on the team knows that. This type of intangible impact is a type of example that comes only with a list of career achievements, such as the one Paul compiled.
“I’m inspired every day. I tell Chris every day. It’s not something I take for granted,” Booker said. “I pick up his brain. I listen to him – carefully. I watch him move and even when he’s not talking or leading us, I just look at the way he does his job. There’s so much respect for him and not just from me, but at the league and world level. “
Ayton said: “The man has proven to be the ‘God of the point’ every time he plays. Breaking landmarks and things like that, gratitude, it’s an honor to be a part of him. I took him after he got the ball. I played and we all celebrated and said, “I appreciate you, man. I’m really honored to be a part of this. It’s crazy.”
“It’s another thing to win games, but when you actually see the steps you want to add or the kind of respect you want to get around the league and you’re around that person every day, it’s a different feeling. . play harder. Because that person does the same thing you do every day to keep up with his game and help the team win, doing everything they can. “
In January, after the Suns lost three straight to return to .500, there was frustration in the locker room. Paul stopped saying that the team is not good enough, instead he said that he is not playing well enough. But the message was clear: he expected more of them and would do everything he could to bring it to light.
Now, almost three months later, the Suns are 1½ games back in the Utah Jazz for the top seed in the West, after taking a title contender on the road in a high-altitude game.
It’s hard to claim statement gains, especially in this weird 72-game season, but for a team like the Suns, every win over a fellow wrestler serves as a kind of validation. The sudden jump from the Cinderella balloon to an apparent title contender leaves plenty of doubt. There is always an air of “The sun is a beautiful story, but …” around them.
“I knew that about our team, but how do I say it?” Williams said. “It’s good to see him play in front of everyone else.”
Towards the end of the press availability, on Monday, Paul was asked about Ayton’s solid defensive effort on Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and while praising the young center, Paul mentioned the unique game plan the Suns had to implement. for Antetokounmpo. But there was a common line that he added, maybe subconsciously, maybe accidentally or maybe intentionally.
“These games right here, we’re in the West, we’re in the East,” Paul said lightly. “The only time I could see them again is in the final.”