Just before Devin Booker got up to finish his post-game video conference Monday, he had one more thing to say. He had to call the ball first.
Someone from the camera flipped it over to him, and when Booker caught it, he let go of a megawatt grin.
“Yes, here it is, all of you!” he said, tucking the ball under his arm. “It’s Going For A Million On Ebay!”
The ball belonged to Chris Paul, presented to him in the locker room after the Phoenix Suns’ 128-127 overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks, overtaking NBA icon Magic Johnson for fifth place on the all-time assists list. Booker, who assisted with a dunk on the other side of the milestone, then returned the ball to Paul. And Paul said he had in mind somewhere that he wanted to send it.
“The first thing I’m going to do is send this ball to Magic and see if he can draw it for me,” said Paul.
It was an evening of celebration and reflection for the Suns, with Paul’s personal achievement underscoring one of the team’s greatest collective evenings of the season. Not only was the victory in Milwaukee one of the best games of the NBA season, it also provided the kind of confirmation that young emerging teams crave.
“It was all the playoffs are,” said Suns coach Monty Williams. “Emotion. Physical. Players playing plays. Late game situations. That was all. The resilience and relentless attitude we showed on the track, on the road, in the extension, says a lot about the character of the boys in us.” safe. room. “
The Suns rocked the bubble in Orlando last summer with their 8-0 run, setting the table for a promising season. Under Williams there was a renewed culture, with a focus 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’s done,” said Williams. “He’s got such – he’s improved the winning mindset. All our guys want to win. But when you see a guy who’s done it from a distance and then you watch him do it, from his diet to the workout routine. every day, and then in the game if he can be in those situations and really take the level of our team to the next level, it’s pretty cool to see. ”
However, the bubble darling phase is over. You get the feeling that the suns are a little tired of talking about it. They had a nice run in the Orlando, Florida reboot last summer. They were good then. They think they can be great now.
“Yeah,” Booker said bluntly when asked if this was what he had in mind after Phoenix added Paul. “Upright.”
Paul has a long track record of leadership. His skills extend beyond the floor, with his cerebral approach to the game and the ability to communicate with teammates and enforce accountability. These things are known. But he had to recapture 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 begin a rebuild, Paul identified the Suns as the next team he will play. could elevate.
“I could sit here all day and tell your story after story,” Williams said of Paul’s impact. “He certainly helps me as a coach. Our conversations in the game allow us to make some plays that we probably wouldn’t be able to do if I didn’t have that synergy with him.”
Paul is the steady beat of the Suns, the metronome ticking along to maintain consistency. Young teams can ride a season’s or even a game’s wave while dealing with losing streaks, drama, or shortages. Paul rarely gets upset and is the weighted blanket at every stress point. Whether it’s a soothing midrange jumper to stop a run, or making a mistake to stop the momentum, or pulling Booker aside for a quick, on-the-fly mentoring, as he did Monday after Khris Middleton van the Bucks had hit a late equalizer. his face, Paul takes his spots.
“Attention to detail. Approaching the game the right way. See the little things and just think ahead,” said Deandre Ayton of the Suns. “Don’t think like a normal basketball player, but think ahead and know what the tendencies of teams are and how we can get better, how else we can adjust an attack or defense. Call early. Just be aware of a small thing.” “
“He really gets the best out of people,” Ayton added. “He wants the best for you, and he will talk to you, teach you. And it’s about how much of a player you have to buy to help the team.”
It’s moments like Paul passing Magic that draws in the reverence and respect he commands in Phoenix’s young dressing room. He’s waiting for a Hall of Famer, and every player on the team knows it. That kind of elusive impact is the kind of example that only comes with a list of career achievements like the one Paul put together.
“I get inspired every day. I tell Chris that every day. It’s not something I’m going to take for granted,” Booker said. “I choose his brain. I listen to him – attentively. I watch him move, and even when he isn’t talking or leading us, I just watch him go about his business. There is so much respect for him and not just me, but leaguewide and worldwide. “
Ayton said: “The man has proven to be the ‘Point God’ every time he plays. Breaking milestones and things like that, accolades, it’s an honor to be a part of it. I picked him up after he played. got the game ball and all of us celebrated, and I was like, “I appreciate you, man. I am truly honored to be a part of this. This is crazy. “
“It’s a different thing to win games, but when you actually see the footprints you want to add, or the kind of respect you want to get in the league and you are with that person every day, that’s a different feeling. “Because that person does the same thing as you every day to stay on top of their game and help the team win by doing everything they can.”
In January, after the Suns lost three times in a row to drop back to .500, there was frustration in the locker room. Paul didn’t say the team wasn’t good enough, but said they didn’t play well enough. But the message was clear: He expected more from them, and he would do anything to get it out there.
Now, nearly three months later, the Suns 1½ game are back from the Utah Jazz for the best seed in the West after beating a title contender on the road in a high-level back-and-forth game.
It’s hard to claim statement wins, especially in this weird 72-game season, but for a team like the Suns, every win over a rival colleague serves as some kind of validation. The abrupt leap from Cinderella’s bubble to an apparent title contender leaves doubters in abundance. There is always an atmosphere of “the suns are a nice story, but …” around them.
“I knew this about our team, but how do I say it?” Williams said. “It’s just good to see it happening in front of everyone else.”
Towards the end of his media availability on Monday, Paul was asked about Ayton’s solid defensive effort against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and while praising the young center, Paul mentioned the unique game plan the Suns had to deploy for Antetokounmpo. But there was a casual phrase he added, maybe unconsciously, maybe accidentally, or maybe deliberately.
“These are playing here, we’re in the West, they’re in the East,” said Paul nonchalantly. “The only time we could see them again is in the final.”