Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - 204 | family and fatherhood with NBA star chris paul

Episode Date: February 21, 2024

This couple things episode is sponsored by AG1! Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase exclusively at www.http://drinkAG1.com/COUPLETHINGS. Today we wanted to share an episode of “Lunch with Lindsay,” a show on our FamilyMade Network hosted by journalist, sportscaster, mom and wife, Lindsay Czarniak! Lindsay recently sat down with NBA star Chris Paul where they talked about all things basketball, family, fatherhood, his new book “Sixty-One” and more! Check out “Lunch with Lindsay” using the links below, this show is an incredible part of our FamilyMade Network. “Lunch with Lindsay” on YouTube ▶ https://www.youtube.com/@lindsaycz/videos Apple Podcasts ▶ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lunch-with-lindsay/id1683213927 Lindsay Czarniak’s Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycz/?hl=en For more FamilyMade shows ▶https://www.familymade.com/podcasts Follow Shawn’s Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/ShawnJohnson Follow Shawn’s Tik Tok ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnjohnson Like the Facebook page! ▶ https://www.facebook.com/ShawnJohnson Follow Andrew’s Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/AndrewDEast Andrew’s Tik Tok ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewdeast?lang=en Like the Facebook page! ▶ https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDEast Love you guys! Shawn and Andrew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. what's up everybody welcome back to a couple things with Sean and Andrew a podcast all about couples and the things they go through another feed drop for you this time introducing lunch with

Lindsay that's right we're so excited for this episode because today we're going to be introducing you to a show with an incredibly talented host Lindsay Zarniak Lindsay Lindsay if you guys didn't know is an established journalist and sportscaster who has appeared regularly on ESPN, Fox Sports, T&T, and NBC Sports. She has a show on our family made network called Lunch with Lindsay, where she sits down for interviews with well-known artists, athletes, celebrities, and more. And it's truly been incredible to listen to. I mean, she sat down with Eric Church.

Yeah, casual. She sat down with some of the best IndyCar and NASCAR drivers in the world. Actresses. That's right. Lindsay is such a great interviewer and asks some really well-thought-out questions that have led to some vulnerable and inspiring conversations with her guests. Lindsay recently did an interview with NBA star Chris Paul, which was huge. They talked about fatherhood, how family shaped him into who he is today, his new book, 61,

and of course, basketball. Chris also answered some questions from curious kids, which was really cute to hear. That's right. So Lunch with Lindsay can be found on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcast, and on her YouTube channel that will link in the show notes. If you are in need of other uplifting, entertaining, or helpful shows, we have a podcast for you. Check out Baileymaid.com forward slash podcast for our full roster. So let's roll with this teaser episode from Lunch with Lindsay.

If you want to listen to more of her episodes, we'll link her show down below. Please do check it out. And we hope you guys love it as much as we do. Without further ado, we bring you Lunch with Lindsay featuring Chris Paul. One thing I thought about was when you talked about the trade that was blocked, that would have sent you to play with Kobe Bryant and what your emotions were around that and then when this news happened

I was like, I was wondering is this, does this sort of feel like, okay? Yeah, it's funny. I had a funeral to go to this morning so my great-grandmother passed away on Friday so we got in town late last night and this morning I was at a funeral. My great-grandmother was 95, 95 years old

and so I went and spoke at something this afternoon. And it was crazy because in the book, I talk about funerals and how tough they are to deal with it. And you said everyone's faces are wet. They're all looking at each other. And it's a really hard thing for you. Had one this morning. Had one this morning. And my brother, my wife, and my son actually went. So it's the first time I've been to a funeral like that with my son, who's 14. So I'm thinking about how I just wrote about this in the book, and I'm living it today. My grandmother's mother, so I've seen a lot of my family members

who some of them hadn't seen in 15 years, maybe longer. And so all the emotions of that is mourning. Then the trade, you know what I mean? So I'd actually almost forgot about the funeral for a second there when we was talking about that because it's so much, you know what I mean? But you keep moving. Yeah. And I mean, the excitement level is it, what was the first thing that you remember feeling? What is, what was the emotion? Um, I don't know. I just love to play basketball. I was playing basketball when I found out, you know. And so to know that I'm going, like I said, to play with these other great players. And then, um, some people never really understand until you have, like, kids. So to see the excitement in my son, that was.

how I found out and to see his reaction you you can't be more happy to see that he's like that you know and so I'm excited what was his reaction oh he was you know he was you know he getting texts from his friends and all that you know so this is a serious opportunity and you talk a lot about that you have things left to accomplish you know this book that you wrote 61 I'm not just saying this like you tugged at so many different emotions I was crying on a plane I was crying when I was reading it

in my closet at one point I was laughing out loud I loved also there was a portion I listened to and your voice in it it's like you you really tell these stories also the AAU side I found myself I was like

I want more I want to understand more as a mom right you hit all these things that are just so important so awesome and I think I came out of it really being like I just want you to run for office Oh, no, that's not, no, no change for that. You'd be so good, but when you talk about having things left to accomplish, what is that? Man, obviously it's that elusive championship, you know, so going to a team with guys who have that pedigree,

they've shown the ability to do it over and over again, you know, with a coaching staff, with the primetime organization. So as long as I've been playing, I still love learning. you know so I'm excited about going into this team this organization and seeing how I can be a piece or just be part of the puzzle to help us to help our team win what do you expect because the other thing is when you talked about being a rookie in the NBA I was so interested in you painted a picture of no one knows what it's like and that it's really lonely and I hate loneliness Right, right.

And I've talked to a lot of other athletes that there was one in particular, a race car driver who was saying he has to be around people that makes him comfortable. But the way that you painted the picture, it was like, I could totally see it. You know, you're the new guy coming in. And so what is it like when you change teams? Not like you're a rookie, but. First of all, when you come in as a rookie, you think about it. As a kid, like you said, your son was outside shooting basketball. Everyone has this dream of going to the NBA.

and it's such a drastic difference from college to the NBA because I was talking to the incoming rookies yesterday and I was telling them all these people on TV are going to be analyzing your game before you even play. And I told them, tonight, just enjoy it. Like, as much as possible, just enjoy it. Because when you get to the NBA, even though that was a dream of yours,

you go from being maybe 19 or 20 to the locker room. You know, if you're in the locker room with me, I'm 38. You know, so it's a lot different, you know. And so after practice, a lot of guys are going to their families, depending on what team you go to. So there is a little loneliness. You know, you might have practice at 11. You get to the gym at like 930, practice over about 1, 1.30,

what you got to do for the rest of the day. Yeah, to your point, they have families, a lot of them, right? So you're just, like, kind of chilling. But when you're a rookie and you're young, you might not have a family. You know, it may just be. You. You. And so it's a lot of idle time, so you've got to try to fill that up.

I liked the theme of mentorship, too, in really finding people, because I think everyone can relate to that, no matter what age you are. Right. Right. So when you think about personalities on a team, too, what have you learned about how to make chemistry as fast as possible? Yeah. When you're trying to make chemistry as fast as possible, the only thing you can do is build trust. And the only way you can do that is with time.

But I think where sometimes teams mess up is thinking that everybody has to like each other, right? Because that's hard, you know, some people are gonna be into this, some people are gonna be into that. But what you gotta do is try to make sure that everybody respects each other. You know, maybe not necessarily like each other,

but make sure you respect them. And then you don't wanna let that guy next to you down. So if you can build that up, then that'll supersede anything else. The book that you wrote, 61, is about your grandfather, Papa Chilli, and Wake Forest, which, by the way, what is it like for you? I mean, it took you like 10 minutes to get through the door, right? People stopped you everywhere. What's it like for you to be back here?

Oh, man, it's nice. Wade Chapel, man. This is such a unique place for me because this is where, like, freshman orientation and all that stuff was. And I, yeah, and I hardly get home. You know, I got here last night, and I leave tonight. to get to Atlanta, so there was so much that I tried to cram in and see family and work out and be at my gym. And then, you know, it's just, it's always nice to be home. A lot of times, I wish it could be longer, but just like everybody else, know life, life is happening.

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Yeah. Make the most of where your feet are. Exactly. Exactly. So your grandfather, I know on signing day when you committed to Wake Forest, that story of, of your grandfather giving you his Wake Forest hat. I loved reading it, but I would love to hear you just share it because I think it was such a great moment. Yeah, so my grandfather's service station

is probably about 10 minutes from here. Really? Yeah, it's about 10 minutes from here. So when I say like this is home, this is home. His service station is probably about 10 minutes from here. And then Winston-Setham State University is about 10, 15 minutes away from here. And so, you know, November 14th is the day I signed my letter of intent because my high school was probably about 20, 25 minutes away.

And so everybody was at my high school and I signed my letter of intent. My granddad took his hat off and gave it to me. And then we, it's still so weird to me that my parents didn't go with us that night. It was just me and my granddad. So right up the street right here is the LJVM, the Lawrence Joel, V. Memorial Coliseum, me and my granddad went to go see Wake Forest play on the 14th. And that next day on the 15th is when I got the news that he'd been murdered. Yeah, so everything was, you know, right around here.

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Man, when I think of it, it's a lot of thoughts to go by because it's been 20 years. You know, it's been 20 years. So even in my great-grandmother's funeral this morning, it was at one of my grandparents' churches that I hadn't been to in so long. So as we was on our way to the church, we passed one of my best friends where he lived growing up. And I hadn't been over there in so long. all this nostalgia you know so when I think about my grandfather and losing him a lot of times when I'm riding around the city is when I'm thinking of oh me and papa I used to go eat there after church or we used to go do this and do that and now at this point in life I try to share

those stories with my kids I think I love that and I think the part where you were talking about your brother going away at his school and you in the back seat and crying was what made me get emotional when I was reading it because I was like oh my gosh one day That might be my kids, maybe, or it's just so heartfelt. Yeah, it's one of those things where you really don't realize what you have until it's gone. Right. So my brother, we fought, you know, all the time over the front seat, over this and that. And then when we dropped them off to school, it's when I missed them because you realize that all those moments or whatnot.

You start appreciating the fights because you had somebody to do it with. Right. I wanted to, the one thing about the hat, there was, I thought this was so cool. You said, right after I signed, Papa took out, took his beloved Wake Forest hat right off, and then you shared what he said. He said, Christopher, Emmanuel, Paul, I will remember this day for the rest of my life. How? Yeah.

I mean, I don't, so, there's so much this woven in. I, what do you think Papa Chile would say about the news today? Oh, man. I think he would be excited, but as I always say, I think he would be more proud of our family. You know, the fact that we all still together, we're still intact. The fact that we're here in Winston, you know, still, he'd be excited. He'd be excited. I don't know if he loved getting on a plane flying, but he'd be excited.

You also said that people. should talk more about black churches, right? And I love that because when I, you know, when I married Melvin, that was the first time that I was really, okay, so we're going to church when we're down in Columbia, South Carolina. And it was so different. I grew up Catholic, right? Yeah. And I remember one of the first times my mother-in-law, for some reason, was sitting in front

of us, and she was putting her hand up to the sky. And I just, I was like, this is so cool because everyone's singing. and they're joyful and it's so different because it was like the emotion it made me feel, I'm just being really honest, was like, why don't we do that? And I feel sort of embarrassed to do that, right? I don't want to feel embarrassed,

but I think I wanted to ask you why you think it should be talked about more. I'm going to tell you, it's so crazy to discuss that and talk about it in the book because my great-grandmother's funeral this morning, right? So I've been going from home now for 18 years, right, even 20 years, including my two years in college even though I was right

here at home. So it was one of my son's first experiences today, right? At church with all of my family. I was listening to gospel music this morning before we left the house, like while we was getting in the shower and stuff. And my son walked in there and I said, man, this song right here make you want to shout. And my son was like, what? what so we sort of showed them what shouting was and all this and uh what is what is it like shouting is like someone is like filling the holy spirit or whatnot and it just moves you you know what i mean so people get their feet going and all this stuff so um we're in the church today and i was i was all messed up because uh it's just like i detailed in the book right like it was an open

casket of my great-grandmother and i kept looking at my grandmother just seeing how hurt she was and looking at my dad and seeing family members that I haven't seen in years. And it's like people always say you hate that it takes losing people to get your family back together. But, you know, for my job and what I do, I'm constantly gone. But, you know, my son was sitting there today and the eulogy today was amazing, the pastor. He was so good, but towards the end, you know, a few people started, you know, feeling it. And one of my cousins got to shouting, and my son sitting next to me. Like I said, he hadn't seen or experienced all this before, and he was just so funny to look at it and to see him.

You know, he tried to say that my cousin Sherry was doing the gritty, you know what I mean? But it's crazy as hard as it was today and the hurt. you know it's always nice to to be able to find some type of laughter in a moment of grief like that and human connection right because that's kind of what you're talking about it's everyone together it's bringing the family and not just the family but other people too right yeah and for my son right my daughter is at a camp in LA but my son he's at an age 14 where he won't ever forget today He won't ever forget today, just like I could vividly remember every emotion.

And my family is so blessed that we haven't lost a lot of people. But he'll never forget today, and I know it, because as my great-grandmother lied there, it was a lien to him, and I told him, I said, Chris, if not for her, there's no Grandma Shaline, which that means there's no my dad. that to me, there's no me and there's no him. You know, so the fact that we got an opportunity to experience five generations is something we definitely don't take for granted.

What are the things that you make sure to do with them to really balance, you know, like you said, you have so much going on, obviously. You've lived so many different places. How do you, what's most important to you that you instill in them? because it's so clear what your family has instilled in you and the things that you pulled from it.

You talked about caring and advocacy as a part of that too, right? But parenting's hard. Parenting's really hard, but I think the biggest thing we try to show our kids is me and my wife try to show our kids is the importance of family. You know, and it sounds simple when you say it,

but not only talking and communicating, but showing up for them, you know, that's the big thing. Like, the most valuable thing that we all have is time. You know, so when you can show up for family, it's nothing like it. It's nothing like it. So my family has always showed up for me. You know, my grandmother, who I was probably the hardest part today, is looking at her. Because my grandmother, she's always shown up, you know, always.

I mean, all of my family, my granddad, everybody, you know what I mean? My grandma, I mean, she watches every game that I play. You know, even when I played in L.A. with the Clippers and it's 10 o'clock here when my game start, my grandmother texts me or called me after every game. Every single game. And what would she say? She, I mean, sometimes Granny called me before coach even brought it in. You know, sometimes I have to answer me like, Granny, let me shower first or something, Granny.

You know, I just, I just appreciate her because she is my grandma at all times. No matter if I was eight years old and now at 38, she's still my grandma. Yes. I know. My grandma's 95. Wow. And the other one's 92. So I know.

And I think it's, you know, it's hard no matter what, right? But it is, there's something, too, about the longer you have them, right? It's like you have more of those memories. you're so now this is great because you're like you're such a storyteller you really are like this process i mean has this taught you things about yourself that you didn't oh man this has taught me a lot of things i've always enjoyed telling stories or not because i like listening to people and i know how like colorful and candid you have to be um with being personal you know and giving real stories and stuff but not being over the top making sure that you contain some

type of privacy you know but um it was it was cool because I know uh as abnormal as my life may seem we try to keep it as normal as possible and so to tell those stories that I know a lot of other people uh go through or deal with um it's cool because throughout the entire entire a process of me and Jess like this version and and Jess is your agent who's awesome Jess is amazing so just you know we have a deadline so they'd be like we got to hire this and I'd be like man can they give us a few more days can they give us a few more days can we get one more week but why was it just like you weren't in the zone with it or was it just a lot to get done around other things too yeah to get done around other things too

But having it finished, you know, when you finish it and you get it, you're like, oh, man, you've got a book. So then the nerves and anxiety come when people tell you they read it. Because now it's like, what did you think? Right, right. It's so crazy because there's so many stories intertwined in the book that when somebody says, what's your favorite part? I'd be like, I don't know. I don't know. You know, I'm just, I'm still in it.

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What have your teammates said about it? Any teammates that have read it? No, no, no, no. I don't think any of them read it yet. No? I got to get my family to read it first. I got you. Got you.

It's so great to have you. here. I really can't believe the timing, too, of this news, and I'm so excited for you. It's crazy, right? Right? It's so great. What are you most excited about? What? The book? The team. The team? Yep. Are you excited to stay on the West Coast? Yeah, I'm definitely excited about that. You know, my kids, my family, you know, had it been to East Coast, they probably were coming, you know, and my kids are actually starting at a new school next year, that they, we're excited about but not knowing if they was gone whatever it is now I know they're happy

you know because they'll they'll get to stay at the school that they were going to and I'll be able to get back and forth it is crazy that all this happened on your book tour and it was like every piece of your tour right you know there was some other piece of info so listen thank you so much congratulations thank you this is going to help a lot of people and I'm going to call you for AAU advice if we get to that point. Let me know. We're working on that now. The AAU conversation could be an entirely separate podcast. Chris did such a great job with the book 61 because he weaved so many themes. And one of the things I took away was that if you are a parent of a child that enjoys a sport or excels at a sport, there are so many lessons and

insightful nuggets to pull away from this book. The other thing is five days after we had that conversation at Wake Forest. Chris joined me virtually in front of a live audience at my local library to have more of a Q&A with me, but also to open the conversation up for kids' questions. And I have to say, the questions these kids asked were amazing. And Chris's responses were highly entertaining. So here's a portion of that conversation beginning with us welcoming Chris in. At this point, it's been five days. So I think that he's processed it probably a little bit more. We'll ask him about that. We're going to dive into the book, so are you guys ready to welcome Chris Paul?

I think when we do, we're going to give him a warm welcome. All right. Ready? Alex, hardworking Alex in the back. Chris, CP3. Good going. In those days since, what have you been most excited about? What part of that news?

What part of the news? Well, when he told me he was so excited, you know, and for me, just to be honest with you, I like Like, my whole life has always been, like, against the odds, right? Like, I'm, I'm vertically challenged. I've never been tall, so, you know, I play a point guard my whole life. Every time I meet someone, they'd be like, you play an NBA? You're not that tall. I'd be like, don't figure.

And, you know, I think probably since the trade happened, it's all, everything has been, how is this going to happen? He can't do this. He can't do that. He can't, you know. And so that is probably the most exciting part is, You think you get to this level or whatnot or whatnot, but you realize you start back over. So the expectation of this not going to work, that's not going to work.

I think that's the most exciting part right now. Have you talked to Steph Curry? That's like, if I got a dollar for every time somebody asks me that. I know. Well, okay, what has the conversation been like with Steph? What have you guys talked about? Take us inside that conversation. Well, what we talked about the other day was where I'm going to live.

You know, it's like actually really simple. And I'll tell you to this, like, before Steph's rookie year, he spent the summer traveling with me and my family. You know what I mean? Like working out and training with me. Like, our parents are close. Steph, my wife, because I was somewhere playing or something, but my wife went to him and Aisha's wedding. Him and Aisha was at my wedding.

So this isn't something like we don't know each other. I think it's cool that you're going to be, you know, starting to establish camaraderie. And I know that's something that, like you said, you know all those guys anyway, but you're so good at that part of it. And a lot of those lessons you learned from your grandfather and your family. You're very open about that in the book. Can you tell the group here what you were like as a kid and what some of those lessons were? What was I like as a kid?

Let my parents tell it. I was bad. I was bad. I was getting butt-woping after butt-whiping growing up. But that was probably just from my curiosity and just, I was the younger brother and had the older brother. And I wanted to do whatever my brother was doing.

Right? So if my brother was going over his friend's house, I wanted to go to it. You know, when you're the little brother, you don't realize that all his friends wasn't necessarily my friends, but you couldn't tell me that. And so the other thing about my brother's friend,

was they always told me what I couldn't do, right? So that motivated me. Like, I was a, I talk about it in the book, I was a diehard, UNC Chapel Hill fan as a kid, right? Diehard Carolina fan. And all my brother's homies used to tell me, man, you can't, you ain't going to be able to go there. You can't do that.

You can't do that. And every time I'll be like, watch this. Watch this. So that's sort of just been my whole, sort of emmo my entire life is trying to overcome what everybody else says is not to know what were the key things that your grandfather really instilled in you right so one of the key things that my grandfather instilled in me was hard work and it sounds so simple but I think a

lot of times we always look for people to tell us things or to give us advice but my granddad showed it right he didn't talk to us all the time about this is what you need to do we just saw we saw the work Every day, he was opening up the service station, and then he would close it down. And it's so crazy, like in life, when you think about work, when you think about prioritizing family and, like, vacation and stuff, my grandfather never took a vacation, right? And I'm not saying that that's a good thing, bad thing, whatever it is.

I just know that the one time he actually went away, and you don't think about it as a kid. The one time he went away was when my grandmother got diagnosed with lung cancer. And I remember we went to Orlando, Florida, to go to Disney. And I don't know it's crazy. I'm thinking about it right now because I'm picturing it. Like, as a kid, it's going to sound so crazy. So please, no disrespect. But my grandmother at this time was like in a wheelchair, right?

So we got to go to the front of all the lines or not. So as a kid, you're just like, oh, we could do it in front of the line. You know, I realize my grandmother got lung cancer here. But when we went on that vacation, That's the only time my grandfather had ever went away with us. And I think he was realizing that maybe he shouldn't have worked so hard and enjoyed more times. But on the other side of it, he knew he had to work to provide for everything else that was going on. So I don't know.

It's just it's amazing how life comes full circle. And one of the things you did, or is someone want to clap? It does feel like you should clap, right? You talk about him not getting to go on vacations, and I, the one thing that I realized from your book is, you know, you gave him a huge blessing because the last time that you saw him was on your signing day at Wake Forest, right? So, and I think that that's so incredible the way you talk about that. Do you mind sharing that story? Yeah, so November 14, 2002, I never forget. That was the day I signed my letter of intent to go to wait for us.

And I had my old family there. My brother had drove on from college, and we're in my high school gym and taking pictures, and I signed a letter. And my grandfather, I think he had his teeth in that day. My granddad had false teeth, you know what I mean? Like, he used to leave him sitting out sometimes, like Dennis to Menace. But it was my granddad. I loved him.

And so after I signed my letter of intent, he took him. his Wake Forest hat off and he gave it to me to put on. And I put the hat on. I remember just feeling so proud and the hat kind of smelled like cigarettes or whatnot just because it had been on my granddad. And that picture that they showed of me and my granddad, that was in the parking lot of my high school, right? That was that same day. It was the last day I was with him. And in that night, and it's crazy how God works, that night, Wake Forest had an exhibition game. And so I went to the game with my granddad, just me and him. My brother drove back to school.

My parents went home and just me and my grandfather went to the game that night and just enjoyed it. You know what I mean? We laughed, got French fries and food, watched the game. And then after the game, when my grandfather took me home, you know, I always told him every time he dropped me off. And I still do this to this day, whether it's my little cousin when she goes home, whether it's my mom or anybody, I always say, Call me or text me when you get home. Call me when you get home just so I know you're okay. And so I told my granddad, I said, hit me when you get home, love you.

Not knowing that would be the last time I talked to him, right? And so that very next day on the 15th is when I was at our high school football game and I got a call from my brother who said he was coming home because my granddad was sick. And I was like, hi, I was sick. I was just with him yesterday. and that's when I found out my brother didn't tell me because we didn't tell him until he drove all the way home but that's when I found out my grandfather had been murdered and that's the part that always just set me off is when you have a loved one you would rather know that they passed away in their sleep

or something a lot more peaceful but then knowing that he was tied up and beaten that was the part that messed me up for a while. Well, and it was a few days after that, and I know in the book, it is, that whole part is so compelling. And even though you know that that's what the story is about, I think the way that you, and I know you worked with Michael Wilbon on this book,

the way that they go back and forth between the time and even the different eras of your life is pretty, is incredible. And so, but when that part finally hits, it really hits. And you had the game of your life in high school, just a few days later is when you scored the 61. Can you walk us through what that moment was like

at the end of that game? Right. So November 19th was the funeral and on the 20th was the first game of my senior year and all my family, everybody was in town. We couldn't even have my granddad's funeral at our church because it was too big. So he went to the biggest church in the city to have his funeral.

and that game, you know, it's still like a blur. And I actually, I still have the basketball from that game. It's in a case, in our trophy case at my parents' house, my most prize possession. But my career high up to this point was 34. 34. So in this game and parents that's in here or whatnot or kids, tell your parents to always videotape or film your games

because my dad got every game that I played in. And so we still have this game. And it was just so crazy how I felt like I could make everything and I was driving and scoring. When I had 59 points, I drove and I shoot a floater and I get fouled. And so, of course, in my mind, I know that's 61, but it was an and one. And it's crazy, like I said, that that was 20 years ago to think.

I don't even know what I was thinking. I knew that I didn't want any more points. So I walked to the free throw line and I just threw the ball out of bounds and I walked off the court and fell into my dad's arms, you know, because at 17 years old, who would have known that 20 years later,

I would have been blessed and fortunate enough to play in the NBA for as long as I had. So at the time, you know, that was, that was it for me. You know, I was like, I've literally fulfilled my dream and my purpose here for doing this for my grandfather. Wow. And when you say it like that, not just to continue and do what you're doing in the NBA, but now for it to come full circle and to have the opportunity that you're about to have, right?

That's pretty incredible. You talked about once you got to wake, Coach Skip Prosser being one of the greatest coaches that you ever played for. What were some of the lessons that you learned from him? Because I bet that a lot of folks in this room have heard similar lessons, but they're very valuable. Yeah, I'll tell you, and that's why I was so cool to write the book because so many things happen in our lives time and time again. And Coach Prosser, who's one of the most three influential people in my life, right? Unbelievable. And coach, I lost coach my second year in the NBA, right? And that was a tough day because I only played for Coach Prosser for two years, two years, and to see how much he took. taught me just about being a man, not about being a basketball player. And having two kids now

and seeing a way that some parents are with coaching is interesting to me because coaches are important, you know, good and bad, right? You can learn from bad coaches too. And you have to allow your kids to be coach. Because Coach Prosser, I used to walk into his office after practice. and like I say I'm very visual I would walk in his office and he'd be sitting there writing letters to other players, other students because colleges recruit

over you, all right, so just know that. When you get there and you think you the best thing since pants with pockets, they're trying to figure out who's going to replace you. Right? So coach was in there writing letters and I come in after class and between class and I'd be like,

coach, what's up? He'd look up, he'd be like nothing. He'd say, how you doing? And I'd say, I'm good. And he would look up to me and roll his eyes, and he'd be like, it's well. It's I'm well, right? So I'm at that point in my life and been like that for years

that anytime somebody says anything to me, it's I'm well. If somebody says I'm good, then I'm like, who are you? And why haven't you been taught? Right. Not only that, it was different things he used to say. He used to say, if you can't be on time, be early. Right? He used to say, never delay gratitude.

And one of the other things that he said, he said, don't be a two to six guy, be a six to two guy, right? So our basketball practices in college would be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. And he would always say, we know what you're going to do from 2 to 6, but the only way that you separate yourself and become a better player is what you do from 6 to 2. Right. And so when you're in school and you're hearing this over and over, you'd probably like, man, I wish you just stopped teaching and talking to me until you get into real life.

And you're like, man, this whole time he was teaching me more than how to be a basketball player. But it's like you say, if you learn how to be disciplined in this, then it will translate to that. How much do you think kids should be playing basketball? How often should they be practicing? That's a good question.

That's subjective depending on who you are, what they don't. But it's not just playing basketball. I think kids should stay active. Like, as much as possible, be outside, play. Get away from them screens sometimes. And that's just what I believe in because, I mean, like I said, I'm a real parent. I have kids.

And I used to go crazy on my son all the time when he wanted to play 2K and all this. Because I used to be like, do you want to be nice in 2K or do you want to be nice and real life? I know I used to have to ride in the car with my parents and we were going on a road trip and I would have to sit and look out the window. I remember those days.

I'll have to sit and look out the window and that's actually when I actually had a chance to dream. Right? We realized that we don't even give kids an opportunity to dream sometimes. Like when you're looking out the window and all those trees passing by, you would just find your mind and your imagination somewhere. And I think that's so important, so important. I love that. You're such a good

storyteller. I remember looking out the windows, especially if it was night, because my parents would always drive us four hours to Pennsylvania, and we would see these houses with lights on inside. And I was always like, what are they doing in their house? You know, but it's that imagination. It's where you just wonder, and I'll tell you my biggest pet peeve, and I'm sorry that the kids in there or whatnot for the parents. And one thing my son, no, I do not rock with it. So also, when we rode in the car, if my parents was going to listen to Frankie Beverly Maze, I had to listen to Frankie Beverly Maze. If they were going to see Earth, Earth, went, and fire. I was listening to Earth went and fire. Nowadays, you would be in the car with your kid,

and they will sit there with an AirPod on. I'm not gone. No, no, no, no. I'll be like, uh-uh, take that out. What are we doing? If you want to listen to something, we're going to listen to it. But there's just the connectivity that I think sometimes gets lost. Kids, when you have a question, if you could say your name and say your age, please, before you ask your question just so Chris has an idea of who you are. Hi, I'm Timmy, and I'm nine years old. What's your favorite thing to do at practice?

What's up, Timmy? So, Timmy, my favorite thing to do at practice. I love practice or not, but to be honest with you, like once you get in season, you sort of just going over things and scout and other team. My favorite thing to do, excuse me, is I love competition. So usually after every practice, especially the past three years, we would have a shooting game that we played. Me and Devin would play. Katie played with us when he came to the team. But that's probably my favorite time of practice is getting to do this competition.

shoot your stuff against, you know, the best players in the world. My name's Carson. I'm 10 years old. If you're losing like 25 to 7, how would you like prepare yourself or get back like into a good feeling to win? That's a good question, Carson. So first and foremost, you always got to think like this. Just as easy as you got down 25 to seven, you've got to believe you can get back up 25 to 25, seven, right? You got to be able to know that you can make up that difference. And it's crazy. A game in the NBA, right?

It's 48 minutes long. And the first three quarters could be ugly. We're ugly. But before every fourth quarter, I make sure I go into the huddle with my teammates, whether we up 18 or down 18. And I'm like, fourth quarter. Because everything else in the game didn't matter except for this fourth quarter. And real quick, I'll tell you, when I play for the clippers,

we were down 27 points against the Memphis Grizzlies with nine minutes left in the game. Hear me? 27 points with nine minutes left in the game. Like by that time, everybody probably had turned the TV off. But if you don't believe, then why is anybody else going to believe? And that's part of leadership. Like, you've got to make sure that the other guys on your team on that bench believe that you can come back. Thank you.

No problem. Hi, my name is Georgia. I'm age 10. My question is, what age do you start liking basketball at? Yeah. So, I don't know about you guys, but I, when I was a kid, you start to learn that you sort of like whatever your parents like. My dad was a huge basketball fan. He was a football fan. My dad was in bowling leagues. That's why I bowled. So I was four years old when I started playing basketball. My dad was on all these men's leagues, and me and my brother would go watch him play. But I loved football, too. I love football more than I love basketball to begin with, but I found my passion in basketball.

Thanks. Hi, my name is Connor. I'm nine years old, and what sports did you play when you were a kid? Good question, Connard. Like, y'all got some journalism, mawling you got. So what I played when I was a kid, and I'm still mad at this, to this day. I'm so mad at my parents about this,

but they did what they could do. So I played one year of bat off the teeth, right? And then I played football and basketball. So I never got to play coach pitch or any of that. So one year, me and my brother both played three sports, And then after that season, my parents said it was too expensive, and they said they were running around too much because we didn't have other people to help. And that's why I appreciate my parents so much because they were working and still found a way to get us here and get us there. My dad coached.

My mom would be the team mom bringing drinks and stuff. Like, they just found a way. So I played baseball, football, and basketball one year, and then they made us choose two sports. So baseball was out of here. Thank you. Hi, my name's Aaron. So, um, I'm super small, and I love basketball. Hi.

So when you were younger, were you small, and I'm trying to make the NBA. Do you think maybe that's, like, possible? Listen, listen. First and foremost, don't come try to take my job. That's what it sounded. But it's funny, man, I wrote a children's book. called Never Too Small to Dream Big, right? And I would never say that you're too small, right?

I would say this, and I think it's in a book, but my college goes used to say, everything is as easy as A, B, C, right? There might have been a lot of basketball players who were better than me or whatnot, but first and foremost, the only way you're gonna get an opportunity to show somebody how good you are

is A, academics, right? Like school. Like school work is real, like you've gotta pay attention school, like A is academics. B stood for basketball and C stood for character, right? So at the end of the day, you're only going to get out of what you get out of and what you put into it. So it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, but it's fun. It's fun. So good luck with that, man. And hopefully I'm still here when you get here. Not happening.

Hi, my name is Delano and I'm not. nine years old. You don't have to introduce yourself, my man. I know you. What does it feel like to be traded to Golden State after being with the sons for so long? That's a really good question. I'd be lying if I say it wasn't tough, right?

I had a home in Phoenix. I was thinking about moving my family, my brother, and everybody to Phoenix. And I honestly at the time was hoping that that's where I would, you know, you know, finish my career, but it doesn't always work out like that. And when it happens, I always say this, even with the injuries that I've had over my career, you get a day, like, you get a day or whatever, or an evening or a night or whatnot to be like, okay, okay, such and such. And then you got to get right back to it.

Got to get right back to it. So I'm excited about Golden State. I'm like, so excited. I'm excited about getting to the city. I'm excited about getting on the court with the guys but like I said since I was four I've been playing this game. So I know a lot of things. I'm really good at

math. I'm really good at maybe telling stories here and there. But one thing I know I'm really good at is playing basketball. And so I get a chance to do that at the highest level with an amazing group of guys man. So I'm My name is Austin. I'm 10-year-olds. What was the most best offensive player you played against?

What's up, Austin? That's easy. Kobe Bryant. Wait, out of all your ears, like Kobe Bryant, like out of all your ears you played in. I ain't that old, man. You said you're like 34. 38. Even worse. Okay. Look, I don't care what area are you talking about. The guy that I played against, I say Kobe Bryant.

Kobe was different. He had this streak of 50-point games he had went on where he had scored like 50 points in, I don't know, five, six straight games. And if he scored 50 on us, he was going to break the record. Man, we was a shoot-around, and we were all out on the court. And I remember Rasul Butler, rest in peace, one of my teammates. We was all talking and sued.

He ain't scoring 50 tonight. We ain't going to go on 50 tonight. And we're like, yeah, all right, we're going to trap him, we're going to doubling, we're going to do this. Man, Kobe might have had 35 a half time. He was different. That makes sense. Exactly. Right.

No matter what era, boss. Thank you. Thank you. Hi, my name is Kalia, and I'm 10 years old. And what advice would you give to kids that want to be? be an NBA player or WNBA player? Right. First young lady, thank you for asking that because I have a 14-year-old son,

but I have a 10-year-old daughter. And I tell you, it's the same thing as far as work at it, right? The same thing. I tell my daughter the same stuff that I tell my son because she didn't play basketball. She just started playing basketball like two years ago. And when she did start playing basketball, it surprised me. My wife called me, and she said, She said, guess what?

I said, what? She said, Cam playing basketball. I said, Cam, who? Right? Not my daughter. And so then I finally talked to my daughter, and I was like so excited. I said, baby, I said, mommy said, you playing basketball? She said, yes.

I said, well, you want Daddy to show you anything? She said, no, thank you. Yeah, I would tell you to work hard and find somebody who's going to show you something because my daughter said she didn't want to hear from me. want to hear from me. I had the best time hearing those children ask questions of Chris and seeing how engaged he got when he was answering those questions. This episode was full circle also for me because I have always felt so strongly about the

need to be present, especially with friends and family. And hearing Chris talk about his own experiences and being really vulnerable about that just solidified that and it made me want to frankly talk about it. more i have a lot of questions after that um for my own family but also i want to dig in more about the things that he talked about culturally and i think hearing about chris also as a dad and my son who was at that conversation at the library has brought up to me since what chris said about not being on screens but looking out a car window and i think there are so many things in the simplicity that we should lean into anyway thank you so much to chris paul

and his entire team, they're amazing, and we certainly asked for a lot of time, and they delivered, especially in this time of crazy roller coaster, the roller coaster of life for Chris. Also, thank you to Richard and the crew from Two Waves Media, who shot this and helped edit it and put it together. And thank you, family made for being great partners in the lunch onesie endeavor. So anyway, until next time, thank you. Be where your feet are. And thank you, Chris Paul.