Chris Paul first player in NBA history to help four teams set season record for wins
Chris Paul has even further validation he makes players and teams better after Phoenix’s 121-110 win Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Lakers at Footprint Center.
The Suns 12-time All-Star is now the only player in NBA history to be part of four teams to set a franchise record for victories in a single season.
2007-08 New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans – 56-26.
2013-14 Los Angeles Clippers – 57-25.
2017-18 Houston Rockets – 65-17.
2021-22 Phoenix Suns – 63-16.
“It’s all good and well. It would be nice to put a championship with all that," Paul said. "That’s the goal, that’s what we’re working towards. I don’t take that lightly. though, because it’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of hard work that goes into year-in and year-out playing and competing. At the end of the day, you want to have a chance. You at least want to have a chance, and I’m grateful to be here with this group."
Anthony Johnson was part of three different NBA teams to establish franchise record for wins.
2001-02 New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets – 52-20.
2003-04 Indiana Pacers – 61-21.
2006-07 Dallas Mavericks – 67-15.
Johnson didn't finish the 2006-07 season with Dallas as the Mavericks traded him to Atlanta on February 22, 2007.
Now Paul stands alone as the only player to achieve that feat with four teams.
"It speaks his greatness, it speaks to his longevity, but his love for the game and the work that he's put and the support system that he has," Suns coach Monty Williams said after Tuesday's win. "I was walking off the floor and there was C.J. (Paul's brother). Every step of the way, I've seen C.J."
The 12-time All-Star has played for five teams in his NBA career with the fifth being the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019-20 season. He led the Thunder to a 44-38 record and the playoffs in the NBA-shortened season due to COVID-19.
“The one thing I saw is I really watched him incredibly and drastically improve Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was coming into his second year,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who coached Paul that 2019-20 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander went from averaging 10.8 points as a rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers to 19.0 his second NBA season playing alongside Paul in OKC.
“Shai and Chris got very, very close and the impact that he had on him mentally in terms of how games were played was incredible.”
In his 17th NBA season, Paul has only missed the playoffs three times with two of those coming in his first and second NBA seasons in New Orleans.
The third time was in the 2009-10 season in New Orleans when Paul only played 45 games. Multiple injuries cost him 37 games that season as he missed 25 in a row after knee surgery.
That’s the lowest number of games he’s played in a single season in his NBA career.
Paul, 36, arrived in Phoenix via trade as Oklahoma City as the Suns traded four players with two being starters in Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr., and a 2022 first-round pick for Paul and Abdel Nader.
They’ve gone 114-37 since the trade.
Phoenix hadn’t made the playoffs since 2010 before reaching the finals last season as a No. 2 seed out the Western Conference in Paul’s first season with the Suns.
They have the NBA’s best record this season and have already locked up the No. 1 overall seed heading into the upcoming playoffs.
“It changed the trajectory of my career,” Suns fellow All-Star Devin Booker said. “I’ve always been a fan first, and then getting the behind the scenes. Everybody gets to see what he’s been doing on the court for the past 20 years, but nobody gets to see the behind the scenes. I’m privileged to be able to see it every day. To be a sponge to it.”
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns 4th team Chris Paul helped set franchise record for wins
