Now in his 16th NBA season, Chris Paul has finally reached the NBA finals, and he hasn't disappointed. He has had many accomplishments, and will most certainly be inducted into the NBA Hall Of Fame. The one thing missing from Paul's resume? A championship.....Now he finds himself in the NBA Finals, and he most certainly is making the most of this rare opportunity.

The events that lead up to Chris Paul getting to the NBA Finals hasn't been easy though. From beginning to now, the journey has been difficult, tragic, disappointing, and even frustrating.

The High School All American

Averaging 25 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals a game at West Forsyth High School in his junior year, Paul helped his school reach the semi-finals...still not resulting in a championship. This has eluded Paul for as long as he's played. Despite winning MVP honors at the National U-17 AAU, Paul still went on to greater things. His senior year he averaged 30 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 6 steals a game. He went on to score 61 points in a game, honoring his 61 year old grandfather who passed away that year.

At this time Chris Paul was named a McDonalds All-American, and listed by the Charlotte All-Observer as "Mr. Basketball".

Chris Paul College Accolades

During his freshman season at Wake Forest Chris Paul averaged 15 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals a game. He set records for  for three-point percentage, free throws, free throw percentage, assists, and steals as a freshman. Paul was eventually named first team consensus all america, and his jersey was retired in 2011.

Early NBA Career

Chris Paul was selected 4th by the New Orleans Hornets (Eventually changed to the New Orleans Pelicans), and was the strongest pick in the draft. Other Notable names include: Andrew Bogut, Deron Williams, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, Nate Robinson, and Channing Frye. Chris Paul has outlasted most of these other draft picks, and now finds himself in the NBA Finals after 16 seasons in the league.

Chris Paul was named rookie of the year, averaging 16 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals per game. Paul eventually went on to set the NBA record for consecutive games with a steal in New Orleans. Despite making the playoffs with New Orleans multiple times, he was unable to reach even the conference finals while with the Hornets.

Chris Paul, Welcome To "Lob City"

Despite a trade being vetoed by the NBA Commissioner David Stern to the Los Angeles Lakers, Chris Paul eventually was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011.

Deandre Jordan and Blake Griffin were overjoyed to have one of the most prolific point guards of all time, and Griffin is quoted as saying "Lob City" in reference to the easy baskets each one of them would have assisted from Chris Paul.

Despite the talent around him, and the consecutive winning seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, Paul was unable to reach the finals. Injuries plagued Paul during his stint with the Clippers, including a strained hamstring, and a broken hand.

Chris Paul In Houston....Can We Forget?

Chris Paul was eventually traded to the Houston Rockets, where he was paired up with James Harden and created a spectacular combo behind Mike D'Antoni's offense. Paul went on to set multiple records in Houston, eventually passing Allen Iverson on the most steals list, as well as passing Isiah Thomas for more assists.

Hamstring issues continued to plague Paul in Houston, as he was limited in multiple seasons, and never completed a full 82 game schedule. Despite making the playoffs in each season he was in Houston, Paul was never able to get over the 'hump' and never made the finals. Unfortunately for Paul, the super team that was the Golden State Warriors would continually supersede the Rockets each year.

The Trade That Paved The Way....

In July of 2019, Chris Paul was traded from the Houston Rockets over to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In exchange for Paul, Houston received Russell Westbrook, and multiple draft picks (that didn't work out....).

While in Oklahoma Paul averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and almost 2 steals a game. According to ESPN, Oklahoma had only a .02% chance of making the playoffs before the season started, but wound up being the #5 seed in the Western Conference. While with Oklahoma, Paul ended up playing his former team in the first round and took the series to 7 games (which ended in a loss). Chris averaged 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists during the series but was unable to pull the young team through to the next round.

The next season (which was shortened) Chris Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns. It's here that we find ourselves today, watching veteran leadership lead a team into the NBA finals. While in Phoenix, Paul has averaged 16 points, 9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds during the regular season. His highest free throw percentage has come in this season, at 93% (He's automatic!)

Chris Paul Made It To The Finals

After bringing the young suns team to the #2 seed in the west, Chris Paul has finally made it to the finals. Eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers (Who were favored), the Denver Nuggets, and the Los Angeles Clippers (another former team of Paul's). Chris has averaged 19 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds during this playoff run, which is an understatement to his value on the team.

Chris Paul has had success throughout his years in the NBA, and is a Hall Of Fame player despite the outcome of these Finals. He led the Suns to a game 1 victory last night, scoring 16 of his 32 points in the 3rd quarter alone.

Chris Paul deserves a championship, but his legacy will not be tarnished either way.