Chris Paul Honored HBCU’s in a Special Way During the NBA Bubble

Chris Paul put together an impressive performance during the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Paul did his absolute best to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Houston Rockets in the first round. Though the Thunder lost in seven games, Paul’s performance was remarkable.

During the NBA bubble, Paul had a different pair of shoes on each game, and that’s because he was honoring different HBCU’s. 

Chris Paul displayed his leadership skills with the Oklahoma City Thunder

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When Paul joined the Thunder, some people did not think they would make the playoffs since they lost Russell Westbrook. There were questions about Paul being able to lead the team at his age. One thing about Paul is that no matter how old he is, he’s going to go out there and lead his team, and he did just that. 

Paul had a very productive season with the Thunder. He was named an All-Star for the first time since 2016, and towards the end of the season, the Thunder were one of the best teams in the league. This was a Thunder team with a lot of young talent and needed that veteran leadership when Westbrook left. Paul was the perfect player for the Thunder.

The younger players on the Thunder team, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, looked to Paul a lot for advice. With the experience that Paul has had in the league, he knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA. Paul is like a second coach out there on the floor; that’s how much knowledge of the game he has. He understands where certain players need to be on the floor, and as a point guard, he knows how to control the game. Paul finished the regular season averaging 17.6 points, 6.7 assists, and five rebounds.

Chris Paul put on a tremendous performance during the playoffs

The Thunder took on the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Paul and the Thunder gave it all they had, and things did not look good when they went down 2-0 to start the series. Many thought that the series was over then, but Paul knew that the Thunder still had a chance. The Thunder won the next two games to tie the series up at two. Down 3-2, the Thunder needed a win to force a Game 7. 

Paul stepped up in Game 6, finishing with 28 points to lead the Thunder to a 104-100 win and force that final game of the series. The Thunder ended up losing Game 7, but Paul displayed how good of a leader he is during that series. 

Chris Paul showing his support of HBCU’s during the bubble

Paul is a big supporter of HBCU’s, and he made that known during the NBA bubble. He is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, an area where HBCU’s are prominent. Paul decided to wear shoes that had different HBCU’s on them in his support of the Black schools.

During the bubble, Paul wore 20 different pairs of shoes that featured an HBCU school. Social media quickly caught on to what Paul was doing with the shoes, and his support of the HBCU’s did not go unnoticed.