In the midst of a revival, All-Star season, thunder point guard Chris Paul aspires to play for at least five more seasons, reports NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman.
In 55 games this season, the 34-year-old has averaged 17.6 PPG and 6.6 APG for Oklahoma City, while strengthening to be one of the best players in the league at the end of the game. As Feldman notes, the 15-year-old NBA veteran became the oldest player to form an All-Star team after not being selected for honor in the previous three seasons.
“Especially in the way my body feels now, I probably definitely want to be at least 20 years old.” Paul said.
It would be a high but not impossible goal for Paul as seven players in NBA history have played at least 20 seasons. Among them includes electricity Hawks veteran Vince Carter (22 seasons) in the middle of his last season. Furthermore, Dirk Nowitzki (21 seasons), Kevin Garnett (21 seasons), Kevin Willis (21 seasons), Robert Parish (21 seasons), Kobe Bryant (20 seasons) e Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20 seasons) also suitable for over 20 campaigns.
A 10-time All-Star, Paul seemed to be at a crossroads this summer when the Rockets unloaded his heavy contract with Thunder. Injuries and inconsistencies hindered Paul during his two-year run in Houston. So after being swapped with Thunder, it seemed unlikely that he would even adapt to the team. At 34-22, Paul helped Thunder reach the current sixth seed in the Western Conference as a likely post-season team.
While it remains to be seen what Paul’s future holds after the current season, his first year in Oklahoma City has erased any doubts that it could be a valuable contribution to a post-season team.