Chris Paul Gifted the Worst Watch He Spent Money on to a Teammate
Chris Paul has made a name for himself as one of the best passing guards in the game. Among active players, he leads the NBA in assists — 300 ahead of LeBron James. Only James and Paul are on the all-time top-10 list. Although both men are in their mid-thirties, neither show signs of slowing down.
One of Paul’s biggest assists wasn’t on the court but to a young teammate off it. The point guard didn’t grow up rich. When he got his first NBA paycheck, he immediately spent $25,000 on a watch.
What happened to Chris Paul’s watch?
In an interview with Men’s Health, the 35-year-old admitted that the first thing he did was go to the mall. “You just thought you had to have everything iced out,” he said. “I had a Cartier watch. You almost couldn’t even tell the time on it because it had so many diamonds. It was one of the dumbest things I had done. Pointless.”
Paul reported, “I actually gave the watch to Reggie Bullock.” It’s interesting that Paul bought an expensive watch but wasn’t so hung up on the price that he felt he had to hold onto it. Paul didn’t go into any detail about how Bullock received the watch. But it seems clear that Paul thinks he appreciated the gift from the NBA’s elder statesman.
The Thunder point guard doesn’t always have the best reputation among his colleagues. So it seems like this was a pretty clever opportunity to build some goodwill.
Paul’s current NBA contract
It’s funny that all these years later, Paul still remembers blowing a few thousand bucks on a watch. Not only is he one of the highest-paid players in the league — second behind Steph Curry — Paul has done well to save a good bit of that money. His financial history has the occasional hiccup, like a Cartier watch. But Paul does his best to spend less than he earns.
His net worth currently sits at around $120 million and the teams he’s played for would probably say he’s worth every penny. Assists are a tough stat to come by, and they correlate incredibly well with scoring points. Not only is Paul a monster on the court, but he also ensures that the players around him always have a good game.
Why Paul is so good at assists
Not since John Stockton has there been a player who makes assists look so incredibly effortless. It’s worth mentioning James against because he’s similar in age and career status to Paul, but the men operate on different levels. James has one of the best basketball IQs ever. He knows what everyone on the court wants to do at all times and he sees all the angles.
But Paul isn’t like that. Paul dishes out assists like nobody else because he’s simply good at assists. He knows what makes a good pass, and what makes a bad one. James’s stats are impressive, but Paul is the Assist God.
Paul even plays his fictional brother Cliff Paul in State Farm commercials. Because of his reputation as someone who’s great at “assists”, Paul was able to start a second career as a commercial actor. Paul will most likely retire before he catches up to Stockton on the all-time assists list, but don’t count him out. He’s been scoring assists all his life, and if you doubt that then you can look at Bullock’s wrist.
