Paul will be joining his third team in four years after ascending to Point God status with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2011-17. He enjoyed a resurgence this past season, making the All-Star team for the first time in four years. Paul averaged 17.6 points (on 49/37/91 shooting splits), 6.7 assists and five rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game, leading the Thunder to a surprising fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Suns owner Robert Sarver is bringing the future Hall of Fame guard and franchise leader to Phoenix, delivering star Devin Booker a running mate. After finishing last season by going 8-0 in the bubble and establishing momentum, the Suns suddenly are set to become a factor in the Western Conference this season.

Paul, 35, will reunite with Suns coach Monty Williams, who coached the point guard for one season (2010-11) in New Orleans. The team went 46-36 that season and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

“His basketball mind,” Paul said of Williams in December, “I used to get so excited before games about the plays he was drawing up.”

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The sharpshooting Booker enjoyed his own ascension to stardom this past season, and the Suns are eager to get him to the playoffs for the first time in his career, before the 24-year-old reconsiders his future in Phoenix. Paul is a step in that direction. The pick-and-roll maestro should also expedite the development of Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 and a walking double-double who improved defensively.

There are fewer safer bets than Paul, so long as he is healthy. His teams have made the playoffs each season since 2010, when he suffered a season-ending left knee injury. He led the Rockets within a win of the NBA Finals in 2018, when a right hamstring injury cost him the final two games of the conference finals.

Paul had a resurgent year with in Oklahoma City, reclaiming his reputation as the “Point God” as he took command of OKC’s young roster to lead it to a surprising playoff berth. Paul made the All-Star Game for the first time since 2016 and was named to an All-NBA team (second) for the first time since 2016.

WHO IS CHRIS PAUL

Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists four times and steals six times. He has also been selected to ten NBA All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams.

Paul was a McDonald’s All-American in high school. He attended Wake Forest University for two years of college basketball, where he helped the Demon Deacons achieve their first-ever number one ranking. He was selected fourth overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, where he developed into one of the league’s premier players, finishing second in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2008. During the 2011 offseason, Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, only for the transaction to be controversially voided by the NBA. Later that summer, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers instead. Behind Paul’s playmaking, the Clippers developed a reputation for their fast-paced offense and spectacular alley-oop dunks, earning them the nickname “Lob City”. In 2017, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, and helped the team win a franchise-record 65 games in his debut season. He played one more season there before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook on July 16, 2019.

Off the court, Paul has served as the National Basketball Players Association president since August 2013. One of the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Air Jordan and State Farm.