SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time

To read this section in a more organized manner, go here.

Chris Paul is by far the most overrated point guard of all-time. I've heard Paul being put as high as a top 5 PG ever, when in reality he isn't even a top 5 PG of his era, let alone all-time. In fact, there is a very, very strong case that he is not even a top 10 PG of all-time. Chris Paul has also been lauded as one of the best defensive guards of his era, some may even consider him to be one of the best perimeter defenders ever. This is all ludicrous. We will analyze why all of these claims are farcical, and name at least 10 PGs in history who were superior as overall basketball players.

1. "Look at Chris Paul's stats"

The number one thing Chris Paul fans obsess over are his stats. Paul's stats are misleading for a huge reason. Career-wise, you have to consider that CP3 played 9 of his 13 career series in the 1st round and never faced a team that was good enough to even make the Finals after beating him, let alone win it all. Of course he's going to have good playoff stats if he's only faced 2nd and 3rd-tier playoff competition his whole career, and has not had to maintain his stats for longer playoff runs by playing most of his career series in the 1st round. Same goes for his elimination stats, Game 7 stats, etc. All protected and inflated under ideal statistical circumstances. Not at all comparable to the stats of true greats who 

1. played against much better competition (Finals or Title teams, which CP3 never faced) 

2. maintained their stats for longer playoff runs than playing 9 of 13 series in the 1st round

So his playoff stats are very misleading. In a little bit, I will present you with evidence showing how much easier it is to put up huge playoff stats when playing under similar circumstances as Chris Paul; i.e. 1st round inflation. But first, we will look at this; in all of his 2nd round exits, Chris Paul has always cost his team in the crucial moments/games
2008 WCSF
Game 3, a chance to go up 3-0
- in the 4th quarter, Chris Paul scored 2 points at the 11:13 mark
- after that, Chris Paul had 0 points on 0/3 FG for the rest of the quarter, before falling behind by double-digits with 3:17 left and scoring 4 more points with the game already over

Game 7 - in the last 6:50, Chris Paul had 0 points on 0/2 FG with 1 TO - Tony Parker outscored him 4-0 in that stretch
- in this series, the Hornets interior defenders held Duncan to 15 ppg on 42%, but Paul allowed Parker to average the same numbers that he did for the 2007/08 regular season 2012 WCSF - Chris Paul = 13-4-9-3 on 37%, and 4.5 TOpg in 38 mpg 
- Bledsoe = 12-3-2-2-1 on 70% in 22 mpg (16 less mpg) 
- Blake Griffin - 21-8-2-1-2 on 47%

So much for Paul not having help. After both Parker and Paul played terrible in Game 1, Parker averaged 21-4-7 on 40% for the last 3 games to Paul's 15-4-9 on 41% in the last 3 games. 2014 WCSF - Westbrook outplayed him over the series
Game 5 - chance to go up 3-2 with the next game in LA - LAC was up 2 with 18 seconds left - then Paul turned it over and fouled Westbrook on the 3 - then he turned it over again on the last possession to cost them the game and eventually the series 2015 WCSF
Game 6 - up 3-2 and a chance to go to the WCF - Clippers were up 13 entering the 4th quarter - CP3 had 1-6 FG, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk in the 4th quarter before a garbage time 3 at the end of the game to pad his stats - and he choked away a 3-1 lead and eventually the series because he disappeared in the 4th quarter
- Patrick Beverly, the Rockets' starting PG and best perimeter defender didn't even play in this series
Every time his team makes it to the 2nd round, he's directly responsible for costing them the series, negating the value of his regular season and 1st-round inflated playoff stats. Later on, we will see many point guards who are greater than Paul, whether statistically or in terms of making their team better.

Chris Paul's playoff stats are heavily inflated
thanks to the T-Mac effect - spending the majority
of his playoff career playing in the first round

Other stats that Chris Paul fans are obsessed with are his top 10 all-time rank in Ortg in the playoffs and number 1 in the regular season, and number 6 all-time PER in the playoffs and regular season. So-called "advanced" stats are by far some of the most useless metrics for evaluating individual players. 

Reggie Miller is number 2 all-time in regular season Ortg, and Kiki Vandewedge is top 5. In the playoffs, Reggie is number 8 (ahead of Paul's 10). The rest of the top 10 consists of no one who should be in top 10 offensive consideration besides Magic Johnson at number 1. Guys like Horace Grant, Kevin McHale, Tyson Chandler, Cedric Maxwell, Hersey Hawkins, Terry Porter, and Bernard King

You also have guys like Kobe, Baylor, Bird, Moses, and Garnett outside the top 20 in playoff PER. David Robinson is also top 4 in regular season PER, yet not even a top 5 center of all-time, let alone top 5 player. And as we've mentioned, with Paul spending 9 of his 13 career playoff series in the first round, these stats are all going to be heavily inflated - also evidenced by Tracy McGrady's number 11 rank in playoff PER, who as we know spent his entire playoff career as a starter in the first round. 

If you look at McGrady's starter years, he averaged 29-7-6-1-1 on 43% for a 24.7 playoff PER which would be top 7 all-time. If you only look at Orlando and Houston years, when he was the number 1 option, he averaged 30-7-7-1-1 on 43% for a 25.4 playoff PER which would be top 6 all-time ahead of Paul. 

It is quite easy to defeat the weak "advanced" stat arguments of Chris Paul fans with their own logic.

1. CP3 has the highest ORTG of any player.
Reggie Miller has the highest ORTG of any SG at number 2

Is he the best SG of all-time?

2. CP3 has the highest OBPM of any PG at number 3.
Charles Barkley has the highest OBPM of any PF at number 7.
Is he the best PF of all-time?

3. CP3 has the highest BPM of any PG at number 3.
Charles Barkley has the highest BPM of any PF at number 4.
Is he the best PF of all-time?

David Robinson has the highest BPM of any C at number 5.
Is he the best C of all-time?

4. CP3 has the highest PER of any PG at number 6.
David Robinson has the 2nd-highest PER of any C at number 4.
Is he the 2nd-best C of all-time?

5. CP3 has the highest WS/48 of any PG at number 3.
David Robinson has the highest WS/48 of any C at number 2.
Is he the best C of all-time?

6. CP3 has the highest Playoff BPM of any PG at number 3
Charles Barkley has the highest Playoff BPM of any PF at number 5.
Is he the best PF of all-time?

7. CP3 has the highest Playoff PER of any PG at number 6
Charles Barkley has the 2nd-highest Playoff PER of any PF at number 5.
Is he the 2nd-best PF of all-time?

8. CP3 has the highest Playoff WS/48 of any PG at number 5

Kawhi Leonard has the 2nd-highest Playoff PER of any SF at number 4

Is he the 2nd-best SF of all-time?

Now let us look at numerous examples of how easy it is to put up big numbers when playing a large proportion of your playoff series in the 1st round. You will also notice that players put up big numbers under these circumstances regardless of how often they face top 10 defenses in PPG allowed.

1. Kevin Garnett 1999 - 2004 Playoffs 6 of 8 series in 1st round

Garnett had the highest post-1980 playoff RPG 
average after playing 6 of 8 playoff series
in the 1st round from 1999-2004

Starting with 1999 because that is the first time he averaged a double double in a playoff series 23.5 ppg on 46% 14.2 rpg 5.3 apg 1.4 spg 1.9 bpg 14.2 rpg would be top 7 in playoff history between Cowens and Dwight Howard. And it would be the number 1 playoff rebounding average amongst all players since 1980. (the last year Wes Unseld made the playoffs, career 14.9 rpg playoff average) Garnett only has one playoff run of 14 rpg lasting past the first round in 2004. Top ranked defenses (3 of 8 series) - 1999 Spurs - 2000 Blazers - 2001 Spurs 2. Reggie Miller (Age 24-36) 1st round playoff series averages only 1990 - 1996, 1998 - 2002 Playoffs, 43 games

Had Reggie Miller played only in the 1st round
from 1990-2002 up to age 36, he would be
a top 9 playoff PPG scorer on just under
50/40/90 shooting. Reggie also faced plenty
of top ranked defenses in that stretch.

25.7 ppg 3.1 rpg 2.7 apg 48% FG 39% 3PT 88% FT 25.7 ppg would be good enough for top 9 in playoff ppg between Hakeem and Curry, up to 2016. Had Reggie played only in the 1st round from 1990 to 2002, he would be top 9 in playoff ppg on just under extremely efficient 50/40/90 shooting. Despite playing up to age 36 well past his prime. Top ranked defenses (8 of 12 series) - 1990 Pistons - 1992 Celtics - 1993 Knicks - 1995 Hawks - 1996 Hawks (1 game) - 1998 Cavs - 2001 Sixers - 2002 Nets 3. George Gervin 1977 - 1985 NBA Playoffs 8 of 11 playoff runs lasted for just one round

Gervin heavily benefited from 1st-round inflation
in the NBA Playoffs, and has a top 7 playoff
scoring  average of all-time as a result.

27.9 ppg on 51% 6.0 rpg 3.2 apg 27.9 ppg would be top 6 in playoff career ppg between LeBron and Baylor. Gervin has 27.0 ppg for his NBA playoff career which is top 7 all-time between Baylor and Hakeem Top ranked defenses (3 of 11 series) - 1979 Sixers - 1979 Bullets - 1982 Sonics 4. Carmelo Anthony 2004 - 2013 Playoffs 10 of 13 series in 1st round 25.7 ppg on 42% 7.3 rpg 2.8 apg Top 10 in playoff ppg, ahead of Kobe at 11 Top ranked defenses (7 of 13 series) - 2004 Wolves - 2005 Spurs - 2007 Spurs - 2009 Hornets - 2011 Celtics - 2012 Heat - 2013 Pacers 5. Dominique Wilkins 1986 - 1993 Playoffs 6 of 9 series in 1st round

Dominique faced a top ranked defense in nearly every
playoff  series of his prime, but still had 28 ppg from
1986-1993 while playing 6 of 9 series in the 1st round

28.0 ppg on 43% 6.4 rpg 2.9 apg 28.0 ppg would be tied with LeBron for top 5 all-time in playoff ppg Top ranked defenses (7 of 9 series) - 1986 Celtics - 1987 Pacers - 1987 Pistons - 1988 Bucks - 1989 Bucks - 1991 Pistons
- 1993 Bulls

6. Alex English
1982 - 1990 Playoffs
9 of 14 series in 1st round

26.1 ppg on 50% FG
5.6 rpg
4.7 apg 

If you remove English's 1978 playoff run of 13 ppg for 9 games, he would be top 9 in playoff ppg ahead of Hakeem with 26.1 ppg

Top ranked defenses (5 of 14 series)
- 1982 Suns
- 1983 Suns
- 1985 Jazz
- 1988 Mavs
- 1990 Spurs

7. Tracy McGrady Orlando/Houston playoff years 2001 - 2008 Playoffs 6 of 6 series in 1st round

Like Chris Paul, T-Mac never faced a Finals/Title team as
a starter, and had even higher inflation than normal as a result, on
top of playing all of his playoff years as a starter in the 1st round.

29.5 ppg on 43% 6.9 rpg 6.5 apg Top ranked defenses (2 of 6 series) - 2002 Hornets - 2003 Pistons 29.5 ppg would be top 3 in playoff scoring averages between Iverson and West Like CP3, none of Tmac's opponents as a starter went on to make the Finals. So here are several examples of how much easier it is to put up big stats under first round inflation, even when facing top ranked defenses across multiple decades. Except for Tmac, all of these other guys in their starter years lost to a team that went on to make the Finals or win it all, both in the 1st round and after. TMac is the only one who shares that circumstance with Paul, and also has the highest inflation of the players listed as a result. He would have a top 3 playoff scoring average under 1st-round inflation including only ORL/HOU years.

Any top 15 all-time PG would put up the same or better playoff stats as Chris Paul under similar circumstances, evidenced by 1994-1997 Rod Strickland.

8. Rod Strickland
1994 - 1997 Playoffs

4 of 4 series in 1st round

21.7 ppg on 45% 

5.1 rpg

9.5 apg

2.9 TOpg

Any top 15 all-time PG would put up the same, or better
playoff statistics as Chris Paul under similar, ideal statistical
circumstances. And that's just what Rod Strickland did.

Top ranked defenses (3 of 4 series)

- 1994 Rockets

- 1996 Jazz

- 1997 Bulls

9. Chris Paul
2008 - 2017 playoffs
9 of 13 series in 1st round

21.4 ppg on 48%

4.7 rpg

9.4 apg

2.7 TOpg

Top ranked defenses (8 of 13 series)

- 2008 Mavs

- 2008 Spurs

- 2011 Lakers

- 2012 Grizzlies

- 2013 Grizzlies

- 2014 Warriors

- 2015 Spurs
- 2017 Jazz

So what have we learned from this? Chris Paul's playoff stats are incomparable to true all-time greats, because they came under such ideal statistical circumstances, as proven by several aforementioned examples. Not only did he play 9 of 13 playoff series in the 1st round, he faced 0 teams that were good enough to even make the Finals, let alone win it all, doubly inflating and protecting his stats due to easy competition.

2. "He doesn't have enough help, he always carries the team"

The other excuse that we hear is that Paul "doesn't have enough help" and has to "carry" the team on his own. People always talk about how Chris Paul "carried" the Hornets. How exactly did he carry them? he won a grand total of ONE playoff series with the Hornets (2008). And he didn't have a bad team in 2008 either. He had Tyson Chandler, David West, and one of the best shooters of all-time in Peja Stojakovic. In the 2008 series, as mentioned before, Duncan was held to 15 ppg on 42% by the Hornets' interior defenders. Pargo also had 16 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7, whereas Paul went scoreless for nearly the last 7 minutes with 1 assist and 1 turnover. You could replace Paul with Baron Davis or Steve Francis and they would have gotten at least one playoff series victory from 2006 to 2010 in Paul's shoes with New Orleans. 

Hell, Baron Davis upset the 67-win 2007 Mavericks with Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, and Matt Barnes as his top options on a 42-40 Warriors team. That's definitely a worse supporting cast than Paul's 2008 Hornets with West, Chandler, and Peja, and definitely worse than Paul's Clipper teams. I'd feel very confident with Baron Davis winning at least one playoff series with a superior Hornets team. The one playoff team that Paul beat in New Orleans was the 2008 Mavericks, who were much worse than the 2007 Mavs team that Baron Davis beat with a worse supporting cast than the 2008 Hornets.

You could also replace Paul with Deron Williams on the Hornets and he'd get multiple playoff series wins. The only player who played well for Williams in the 2007 Playoffs during the Jazz's WCF run was Carlos Boozer, and Boozer only played well because Deron Williams created his offense for him. Only once in his career has Boozer averaged over 15 ppg in a playoff series without Deron Williams, in 2013 when he had 17 ppg against the Nets in the first round. Williams also led the Jazz to the 2008 and 2010 WCSF, losing to the Lakers both times. Paul did absolutely nothing impressive during his time with the Hornets in getting only one playoff series win, and while playing with a very underrated and well-rounded supporting cast, no less. Later in this article, we will examine why Deron Williams at his best was a much better PG than Chris Paul at his best.

The one time that Chris Paul led the Hornets
past the first round, he had a very well-rounded
and balanced supporting cast.

Chris Paul has also been playing on one of the most loaded teams in terms of talent for the last couple years - Doc Rivers future HoF coach (got the 2009 Celtics to Game 7 of the ECSF without KG) - Blake Griffin arguably the best PF in the league - Deandre Jordan 2x rebounding champ - Jamal Crawford 6th man of the year - and good role players like Barnes and Reddick But he still choked away the key games in the 2014 WCSF and 2015 WCSF and can't lead that stacked team past the 2nd round. Paul has had several playoff series where he had more than enough help to get the win, but failed. There are other times that Paul plays horribly, leading to his team losing, but Paul still doesn't receive any blame for that. It doesn't matter if Paul has a good team or not, he can't lead them to becoming legit contenders (at least a WCF appearance) regardless of how much help he has.

2006 and 2007 - missed playoffs. This isn't too bad though, as some great players have failed to win a playoff series after 2 seasons (LeBron, Shaq, Jordan)

2008 WCSF vs Spurs
- The Hornets had home court advantage in this series, yet Paul blew a 2-0 and 3-2 lead.
- The Spurs best players were Ginobili, Duncan, who was held to 15 ppg on 42% by the Hornet's interior defenders, mainly Tyson Chandler, and Parker, who was Paul's responsibility to slow down.

Tim Duncan 2008 Playoffs 

10 games vs PHX/LAL 

23.6 ppg 15.6 rpg 46.1% FG (95/206) 

7 games vs NOH 

15.3 ppg 13.0 rpg 42.1% FG (40/95) 

This is Duncan's 3rd worst FG% in a playoff series after 2005 finals and 2016 WCSF (age 40 - last series of career) 
- Instead of slowing down Parker, Paul allowed Parker to average the same numbers that he put up in the regular season
- Aside from the Big 3, the Spurs had a bunch of old fossils like Bowen who retired after the 2008 Playoffs, 7 ppg Finley, 1.7 ppg Horry, 3.2 ppg Brent Barry, and weak role players like Udoka, Oberto, and Kurt Thomas. The Spurs had literally 0 depth beyond their 3 main players.
- David West put up 20-9-2-1-2 on 45%, and the Hornets had two strong rebounders in Chandler and West who put up 9.3 and 9.6 rpg. Duncan did a great job rebounding with 13 rpg, but beyond that nobody on the Spurs even reached 6 rpg
- Pargo had 16 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7 (only 2 of those shots were assisted by Paul), but even with that amazing help Paul couldn't get it done.
- Paul had a good statistical series, but that doesn't excuse him for losing with more than enough help to have won the series, especially with his disappearing down the stretch of Game 3 and Game 7
- Tim Duncan's 42.1% FG in this series is the 3rd worst of his career in any series, after the 2005 Finals against the Pistons, and shooting 36% at age 40 vs the 2016 Thunder. Paul had more than enough help on defense to get the job done.

Game 3, a chance to go up 3-0
- in the 4th quarter, Chris Paul scored 2 points at the 11:13 mark
- after that, Chris Paul had 0 points on 0/3 FG before falling behind by double-digits with 3:17 left and scoring 4 more points with the game already decided

Game 7
- in the last 6:50 of Game 7, Chris Paul had 0 points on 0/2 FG with 1 TO - Tony Parker outscored him 4-0 in that stretch

Paul failed his team individually in the crucial moments, not the other way around, as Chandler did an amazing job on Duncan and Pargo had 16 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7. Chandler also held Duncan to 2 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7.

2009 1st Round vs Nuggets
- Chauncey Billups completely exposed and outplayed Paul in this series. 
- Billups had 23-4-7 on 48% and 66% 3PT, 1.2 TOpg while Paul had 17-4-10 on 41%, 4.8 TOpg. Billups 66% 3PT is his highest in any series, against CP3's overrated defense by no coincidence.
- Billups scored way more efficiently and was the way better playmaker, Paul had quadruple the turnovers as Billups. Billups had a 6:1 AST:TO ratio to Paul's 2:1
- You can't blame Paul's teammates for not stepping up when Paul played so poorly in this series, especially with how past-prime Billups dominated him. Paul was dominated individually, not because of his team.

2010 - missed playoffs
- The Hornets were 14-23 when Paul didn't play, and barely 0.500 at 23-22 when he did play, which wasn't a good enough pace to make the playoffs 
- later on, we will see many PGs who took much worse supporting casts than a 14-23 Hornets team to much greater heights than the 2nd round

2012 WCSF vs Spurs
- Paul had a completely garbage series of 13-4-9 on 37% with 4.5 TOpg
- Eric Bledsoe of the Clippers outplayed the overrated Paul in this series, as he averaged 12-3-2-2-1 on 70% in 22 mpg to Paul's 13-4-9-3 on 37% in 38 mpg. Paul had an extra 16 mpg than Bledsoe, but only had a notable advantage in assists, and while shooting much, much, much worse
- Blake Griffin meanwhile was the best player on the team for the Clippers with 21-8-2-1-2 on 47%. Paul was the 3rd best player on his team when they lost this series, so how can you make the excuse that Paul didn't have help when he grossly underperformed himself and was outplayed by 2 of his teammates? Doesn't seem like he was carrying the team to me

2013 1st Rd vs Grizzlies
- The Clippers had a 2-0 lead, and in Games 3 and 4 Paul laid an egg, allowing the Grizzlies to tie the series 2-2
- In Game 3, Paul had 8-6-4 on 36% with 5 turnovers
- In Game 4, Paul only had 1 point and 1 assist on 0/2 FG in the 4th quarter, and his numbers came when the Clippers were losing by 20 with 3:30 and 3:10 left in the game. 
- The Clippers were only losing by 4 entering the 4th quarter
- In Game 5, Paul was by himself as he dropped 35-6-4-3 on 46%, but in Game 6 he had a huge 30-10 on 79% from Matt Barnes and still lost with that help, while putting up a good 28-4-8 on 69%
- Paul allowed the Grizzlies back in the series thanks to his Game 3 and 4 chokes, and this went on to cost them as they lost 4 straight and blew a 2-0 lead.

2014 1st Rd vs Warriors
- Curry exposed and outplayed Paul by averaging 23-4-8-2 on 44% to Paul's 17-5-9-3 on 42%
- Paul was outplayed by Curry in this series, but the Clippers still won because Paul had the better supporting cast. So much for Paul never having any help and having to "carry" a team, if winning a series while putting up 17-5-9 on 42% and getting outplayed by Blake Griffin is carrying them
- Griffin averaged 23-6-4-2-1 on 53%, whereas Curry's next option Klay Thompson had 16-3-4 on 41%. 
- The Clippers also had 12 ppg 15 rpg 4 bpg on 76% by Deandre Jordan, but apparently Paul was getting those rebounds and blocks for Jordan as he supposedly carried his team while getting outplayed by Curry
- Paul's 6th man Crawford had 17 ppg on 44% to Curry's 2nd option of Thompson's 16 ppg on 41%, and Thompson played 12 more mpg
- it's interesting how we always hear about Paul having to carry the team, yet he wasn't even the best player on his team while beating the Warriors, and getting outplayed by Curry
- Paul also benefited from the Warriors' best rebounder in Andrew Bogut not playing in this series, yet it still took 7 games to beat them.

2014 WCSF vs Thunder
- Paul had better help in this series compared to Westbrook as well, but Westbrook exposed him and outplayed him despite having less help, and outplayed him in the deciding clutch moments of Game 5 to take the eventually deciding game of the series. 
- Westbrook had 28-6-9-2 on 49% and 50/57 FTs (89%) to Paul's 23-4-12-3 on 51% and 18/24 FTs (75%). Westbrook's 49% FG is the highest of any series in his career, against CP3's overrated defense by no coincidence.
- Westbrook scored way more and way more efficiently as he went to the line more than twice as much, shooting almost 90%. - Paul also choked away the eventually deciding game 5 with his 2 clutch turnovers including on the game winning attempt.

- He fouled Westbrook on his 3pter, so Russell made 3 FTs to take the lead. Westbrook outplayed him in the clutch of the eventually deciding game, further cementing that Westbrook outplayed him for the series. 
- outside of Durant, nobody showed up for Westbrook in this series. Westbrook even had to outrebound Serge Ibaka. How embarrassing for the Thunder's number 1 interior presence to get outrebounded by his point guard
- the Clippers as a whole held all OKC players outside of Durant and Westbrook to 46 ppg combined (277 total points). The Clippers had 60 ppg combined from everyone not named Paul or Griffin (360 total points).
- OKC had less depth, a worse coach, and no scoring options outside their top 2 players, one of whom was Paul's responsibility to slow down and he didn't. LAC did a much better job defensively on OKC's supporting cast than vice versa 
- the Clippers had the better coach in Doc Rivers, arguably the best PF in the league, a 2x rebounding champ, by no means were the odds overwhelmingly in OKCs favor. That's why Clippers had the perfect opportunity to go up 3-2 with the next game in LA, but Paul blew it at the end of Game 5
- Paul had more than enough help, still got exposed and outplayed by Westbrook, particularly in the clutch, and ended up losing. So much for Paul being able to "carry" a team. The Clippers lost because Paul was outplayed by Westbrook individually, not because of his teammates. Remember, the only reason they made it this far was because Paul's teammates bailed him out after getting exposed by Curry

There is no excuse for Paul failing to lead a very
strong Clippers team past the 2nd round

2015 WCSF vs Rockets
- The Clippers had a 3-1 lead, and were basically guaranteed a WCF appearance entering the 4th quarter of Game 6 with a 13-point lead.
- But Paul, being the choker that he is, choked away the 4th quarter in Game 6 and disappeared once again,
- Paul had 1-6 FG, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk in the 4th quarter before he padded his stats with a 3pter when the game was over

- And no excuses about no help, because the Clippers held it down and got a 1-1 split in Houston without Paul. Griffin averaged 30-15-9 on 52% in the 2 games that Paul missed to steal homecourt.
- Griffin averaged 27-12-5 on 56%, Deandre's 14-13-2-2-2 on 72%. Griffin actually played better than Harden, the Rocket's best player who had 25-6-7 on just under 40%

- James Harden also shot under 40% for the series, so whoever was guarding Harden (and it wasn't Paul, who rarely matched up with him) did their job
- Patrick Beverly, the Rockets' starting PG and best perimeter defender didn't even play in this series, yet Paul couldn't take advantage. 

Game 5
- CP3 had 22 and 10
- but 12 points and 4 assists after already losing by 15+
- roughly half of his 22-10 stat line came when the game was already out of reach

Game 6
- CP3 went 1-6 FG in the 4th quarter before a garbage time 3 to make it 2-7 

- Clippers blew a 13-point 4th quarter lead in a closeout game at home because of CP3's incompetence

Game 7
- CP3 had 17 and 3 for 3 quarters, losing by 19 entering the 4th quarter
- when the chances of a comeback were negligible, CP3 padded his stats when it was already too late, putting up 9 and 7 in the 4th quarter to finish with a deceptive 26-10 The rest of Paul's career consists of inflating and padding his playoff stats in the 1st round (2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016) where 8 of the 12 playoff series in his career have occurred. Any good PG should be able to put up good stats in first round playoff series, so for Paul to have done so doesn't really make him special. It's much harder to put up good stats in the playoffs when most of your career is spent past the first round, against better competition and while playing more games per-playoff run. 

CP3 wasn't even the best player when they won in the 1st round against the Spurs, so we can't hear any excuses about help when he wasn't even the main reason they made it to the 2nd round

2015 1st Rd
Griffin 24-13-7 on 47% FG - 76% FT
Paul 23-5-8 on 51% FG - 97% FTGriffin only had only 0.5 less APG than CP3 but had +8.5 RPG and +1.4 PPG than CP3. In each of the last 2 playoff series that Chris Paul won, Blake led both teams in scoring and Deandre led both teams in rebounding and blocks, against the 2014 Warriors and 2015 Spurs. Chris Paul was not even the best player in half the playoff series he won.

Paul's playoff numbers aren't impressive at all compared to legit all-time great PGs who spend the majority of their playoff career putting up good numbers in deeper playoff runs when the best competition is left, not building their playoff resume off of first round numbers. Any above average point guard would put up the numbers Paul did under such ideal circumstances. Take a look at Rod Strickland. He was a very underrated PG, but not all-time great caliber. 

Rod Strickland 1994 - 1997 Playoffs (All in 1st round) 21.7 ppg 5.1 rpg 9.5 apg on 45%, 2.9 TOpg Chris Paul 2008 - 2017 playoffs (9 of 13 series in 1st round) 21.4 ppg 4.7 rpg 9.4 apg on 48%, 2.7 TOpg

Suddenly, Paul's overrated playoff numbers don't look so impressive, considering the context of these incredibly overrated and 1st-round inflated averages under ideal statistical circumstances. Rod Strickland under similar circumstances as Paul's playoff career put up numbers that were virtually identical to the Paul's playoff career averages, if not slightly better, and with less help to draw the defense away from him.

Strickland also played the 1994 Rockets and 1997 Bulls who went on to win the championship, whereas Paul never has played a team that even went on to make the Finals. If Rod Strickland can put up similar or better averages as Chris Paul's under similar circumstances (Paul playing most of his playoff series in the 1st round), Paul's overrated and inflated playoff numbers are far from enough to warrant him any consideration as one of the best all-time PGs considering the favorable circumstances under which his averages came.

2016 and 2017 1st Rd
In the 2016 1st Round, Chris Paul was injured, but he did play poor defense on Damian Lillard when healthy, allowing Lillard to shoot 60% in the first round.

In the 2017 1st Round, Chris Paul dealt with the absence of Blake Griffin due to injury after Game 3. Paul deserves some credit for a good statistical series, but at the same time he also deserves criticism for having 0 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7 and shooting 32% for Game 7 as a whole. Chris Paul also played terrible defense, getting lit up by George Hill and Gordon Hayward.

Chris Paul, Game 7 vs Jazz
- 2 points on 1/9 FG, 4 ast to 2 TOs in the 2nd half of Game 7
- 0 points on 0/8 FG, 4 ast to 2 TOs after 11:00 mark of 3rd quarter

The Jazz were not that great when at full health, and weren't at full health for more than half the series. Gobert missed the first 3 games due to injury and Hayward missed the last 3 quarters of Game 4 due to illness. So for the first 4 games out of 7 the Jazz were missing one of their two best players. Not that surprising that CP3 had a big statistical series against a team that was undermanned in most of the games, and won't pass the 2nd round even if fully healthy.

The most important thing we learned from this series is that the Clippers are 
- 1-3 in the playoffs when CP3 plays but Griffin does not
- 1-1 in the playoffs when Griffin plays and CP3 does not, while playing against a better team in the Rockets. 

And CP3 and Griffin were in their primes during all of those games, so it is not an unfair sample size. So the great help that Blake Griffin has given to the Clippers and his vital role in their success has been grossly undervalued all this time by the Chris Paul apologists who, rather than appreciate how much Paul benefits from great help like Griffin, prefer to use use him as a scapegoat for Paul's individual shortcomings as a Clipper instead.

3. "Chris Paul is an elite defender"
100% false, at least in the playoffs when it matters most. Chris Paul might have locked down some players in the regular season, but the mark of a truly elite defender is consistently locking down tough matchups in the playoffs, which Paul has never done.

Pointing out that Paul's defense is virtually non existent in playoff matchups against elite PGs isn't hating. It's a documented and historical fact. Paul has been outplayed in the majority of his matchups against elite PGs in the playoffs when it matters. 2009 1st Round
Chauncey Billups (incomplete footage) 23-4-7 on 48%, 1.2 TOpg and 66% 3PT Chris Paul 17-4-10 on 41%, 4.8 TOpg Billups scored way more efficiently and was the way better playmaker, Paul had quadruple the turnovers as Billups. Billups had a 6:1 ast:to ratio to Paul's 2:1. Knowing that his overrated defense was getting exposed, Paul actually resorted to avoiding guard Billups for long stretches in this series. Billups 66% 3PT is his highest in any playoff series, against CP3's overrated defense no less.

2014 1st Round 
Steph Curry 23-4-8-2 on 44% Chris Paul 17-5-9-3 on 42% Paul won only because he had the better supporting cast. Curry clearly outplayed him, despite having less help. Paul also avoided guarding Curry in this series after getting lit up. If you watch Curry's Game 5 highlights, you'll see that Paul is barely even guarding him. How is he the best defensive PG of his era if he does't even consistently guard the other teams' best PG? It's also worth noting that the Warrior's best rebounder in Andrew Bogut didn't play due to injury, yet Curry still pushed Paul's far superior supporting cast to 7 games.

2014 WCSF  
Russell Westbrook 28-6-9-2 on 49% and 50/57 FTs (89%) Chris Paul 23-4-12-3 on 51% and 18/24 FTs (75%) Westbrook scored way more and way more efficiently as he went to the line more than twice as much, shooting almost 90%. Westbrook's 49% FG is the highest of any series in his career, against CP3's overrated defense by no coincidence. Paul also choked away the eventually deciding game 5 with his 2 turnovers including on the game winning attempt. He fouled Westbrook on his 3pter, so Russell made 3 FTs to take the lead. Westbrook outplayed him in the clutch of the eventually deciding game, further cementing that Westbrook outplayed him for the series. Had Paul not done that epic choke job, the Clippers would have been up 3-2 with Game 6 in LA.

For the defensive praise that Chris Paul
receives, it is very disappointing to see
how sub-par his defensive performances
are in the playoffs. Nearly each time
he faced a legit PG, he was outplayed

And in 2012, as bad as Tony Parker played, Chris Paul was even worse 2012 WCSF Chris Paul 13-4-9 on 37% only 5/5 FTs Tony Parker 17-3-8 on 36% and 24/29 FTs Their statlines are even until you consider Parker went to the line almost 6 times as much, scoring more efficiently (albeit still not good efficiency) and putting fouls on opposing defenders. 

You also have to consider that the Game 1 anomaly in which Parker had 7 points on 1-9 (11%) brought his overall numbers down. Outside of that anomaly, Parker averaged 21-4-7 on 40% in the last 3 games while making 6.3 out of 8 FTs per game (79%) in the 2012 WCSF. If you remove Paul's worst game of 6-10 on 3/13 (23%) in Game 1, he averaged 15-4-9 on 41% in the remaining 3 games and only shot 5/5 FTs.

So Parker did clearly outplay him over the series when you put Parker and Paul's worst games aside. Parker averaged 21-4-7 on 40% over the last 3 games to Paul's 15-4-9 on 41% after they both played garbage in Game 1. So there is no doubt that Tony Parker also outplayed Chris Paul in the 2012 WCSF once you put their overall performance and averages in full context. Along with Westbrook, Billups, and Curry outplaying Paul in head to head playoff matchups, this series cements that Paul's playoff defense is based almost entirely on reputation and not on substance.

In the 2015 Playoffs, Parker was playing with an injured Achilles, ankle, and quadriceps, which was more responsible for his poor numbers than Paul's defense. When Parker was healthy in the 2008 WCSF, he put up the same numbers on Paul that he did for the regular season, and nailed the series-clinching shot in Paul's face, further confirming that Paul's defense has a negligible, or in most cases a negative impact in the playoffs against good PGs

2008 WCSF Tony Parker (incomplete footage) 2008 regular season 18.8 ppg 6.0 apg on 49% 2008 WCSF vs Paul 19.4 ppg 5.7 apg on 49%

In the 2016 Playoffs, Lillard had a very poor shooting series, but it was not because of Chris Paul. Damian Lillard shot an insane 60% when going against Paul's overrated defense. Paul is supposed to be the best PG of this era yet he was outplayed in the majority of his playoff matchups against legit PGs (Billups, Curry, Westbrook, 2012 Parker). And if he did outplay them like 2008 Parker and 2016 Lillard, he still didn't lock them down. 

That's the definition of overrated defense. If your defense doesn't show up in the playoffs, you can't be considered an elite defender. Gambling for steals in the passing lanes like Iverson for some steals titles doesn't hide that Paul is a very sub-par defender in the playoffs against good PGs. It's impossible to label Paul as one of the best point guards of all-time, when he can't even outplay the notable point guards of his own era in the vast majority of their playoff matchups.

Chris Paul is not even a top 10 defensive PG of all-time. Payton, Jason Kidd, Stockton, Frazier, Dennis Johnson, Mookie Blaylock, Rondo, John Wall, Patrick Beverley, Mo Cheeks, Chauncey Billups, Avery Bradley, Lindsey Hunter, and Derek Harper were or are all much better defenders. Keep in mind that the PG position has historically been the weakest position defensively, yet Paul still isn't a top 10 defensive point guard. Any average defensive point guard is better than Chris Paul on that end. Even if they aren't elite defensively, they aren't liabilities on that end like Chris Paul is. This includes guys like Kevin Johnson and Isiah Thomas, who again are not elite defensively, but can at least hold their own for the most part, unlike Paul who is a defensive liability that can be exploited, a guy who just gambles for steals like Iverson.

4. "Chris Paul Deserved 2008 MVP"
Not at all. Kobe Bryant was the clear 2008 MVP. Kobe only played 27 games with Pau Gasol that year, and still led the Lakers to the best record in the West. Pau was also doing nothing in Memphis at the time, only having a 10-29 record in 2007/08 when he played in Memphis, as opposed to 22-5 playing with Kobe. Kobe was 35-20 without Gasol that year, which would be a 52-win pace for a full season. Bynum was also injured and finished for the year halfway through the season.

Paul was playing with an underrated team of David West, Tyson Chandler, and one of the best shooters of all-time in Peja Stojakovic. Peja wasn't at the same level that he was with the Kings, but he was still a very effective role player. By no means did Paul have a mediocre team. The Hornets were also the better defensive team, being top 5 in ppg allowed to the Lakers' 19th rank. Considering there was no Pau Gasol for 55 games in LA, and Kobe still led them to the best record in the West, Kobe was clearly more valuable to his team than Paul.

And Kobe cemented his superiority over Paul by taking down the same 2008 Spurs team that eliminated Paul in the earlier round, even though Paul had homecourt. Unlike the Hornet's interior defenders, who held Duncan to 15 ppg on 42%, the Lakers had a much harder time handling Duncan's 22-17-5-1-2 on 43%. Kobe also only got 13-10 on 45% and 13-10 on 40% from his top 2 options, Gasol and Odom, whereas Paul had 20-9 on 45% from David West. The Lakers had 19.2 rpg from Gasol and Odom and the Hornets had 18.9 rpg from West and Chandler, pretty even in that department. Kobe got the job done against the Spurs even with his teammates struggling offensively, Paul couldn't get it done even with David West playing well and his teammates doing a better job on Duncan defensively. 

5. Many PGs Are Superior to Overrated Chris Paul
Here is where we explain in detail why there are so many point guards who deserve a top 10 all-time rank over Paul. First, we'll start off slowly with showing why Paul isn't even a top 5 PG of his era, before going to show why he isn't a top PG of 10 all-time. These PGs are not listed in any particular order of ranking.

1. Russell Westbrook

Westbrook totally exposed and outplayed
Chris Paul in the 2014 WCSF, especially
in the deciding clutch moments of the series

As we saw, Westbrook outplayed Paul in the 2014 WCSF, particularly in the deciding clutch moments of the extremely critical Game 5, despite having less depth, a worse coach, and less overall help. OKC was just a 2-man show of Durant and Westbrook in that series. In the 2014/15 season when Durant only played 27 games, Westbrook led a very mediocre supporting cast to 45 wins, even with Westbrook missing 15 games. They were 40-27 when Westbrook played, which is a 49-win pace. The Thunder also missed Ibaka for 18 games on top of that. The 2015 Thunder were worse than any playoff team Paul played on, including the Hornets. 

Only once did Paul crack 50 wins with the Hornets in 2008, and that was with Chandler, West, and one of the best shooters ever in Peja Stojakovic. He also had a top 5 defense that year thanks to the interior defenders that would give Duncan a huge problem in the 2008 WCSF. Paul had a much better supporting cast in 2008 and 2009 than Westbrook with the injured 2015 Thunder, who were 5-10 (0.333 win%) when Westbrook was out. When the 2010 Hornets went 14-23 (0.378 win%) without Paul, he barely got them to a 0.500 record at 23-22 when Paul played. Westbrook did more with a lesser supporting cast, and they only missed the playoffs because 45-wins was tied for the 8-seed Pelicans in a tough Western Conference, on top of Westbrook being out for 15 games and Ibaka for 18 games. I have no doubt Ibaka and Westbrook for 82 games would have easily cracked 50+ wins on the Durant-less 2015 Thunder, something Paul only did once in New Orleans.

In the 2016 Playoffs, Russell Westbrook joined - Magic Johnson (3x) - 1986, 1987, 1991 - Kevin Johnson (2x) - 1989, 1990 - Steve Nash (2x) - 2005, 2006 As the only players to average 20-10 (ppg-apg) in a playoff run past the 2nd round. Magic is the only one to do it in a Finals run - 1987 and 1991. KJ did it before Barkley was on the Suns in 1989 and 1990. Nash did it without Amare in 2006. Magic did it without Kareem in 1991

Paul is clearly vastly inferior to the company that Westbrook joined, (we will go into detail on them in later posts) and this cements Westbrook's superiority over Paul on the team and individual levels as well. With Westbrook outplaying Paul in the 2014 WCSF, with a worse supporting cast, doing more with less in the W-L column with a poor 2015 Thunder team, ad having a 20-10 run past the 2nd round, Westbrook is clearly superior to Paul both statistically and in terms of turning a team around. 

Let's not forget that even with Durant, the 2013 Thunder were only 2-2 against the 8-seed Rockets without Westbrook, after going 2-0 with Russell, and then lost in 5 to an average Grizzlies team without Russell to help them out. Had Russell missed the whole first round, OKC would have been in danger of losing to the 8-seed Rockets. Even an MVP Durant greatly missed Westbrook when he wasn't there in the playoffs.

2. Steph Curry

Chris Paul was outplayed by Curry in the 2014
Playoffs, only winning due to having a
superior supporting cast. In 2015 alone, Curry
surpassed Chris Paul's entire career

Curry also outplayed Paul in the 2014 Playoffs despite having a worse team, as explained above. The Clippers only won because Paul had the better supporting cast. Curry also played without his best rebounder, Andrew Bogut, due to injury. Even with an undermanned and far inferior cast, he outplayed the overrated Paul and pushed them to 7 games.

In the 2015 Playoff run alone, Curry accomplished more than what Paul has in his entire career. Against the same Rockets team that Paul choked away the 4th quarter of Game 6 and eventually the 3-1 lead, Curry got the job done and put up 31-5-6-2 on 52%. 

And although Iguodala won Finals MVP, Curry was still clearly the best player for the overall playoff run as he had 26-5-6-2 on 44% in the 2015 Finals. I don't want to hear any excuses about Curry having a better team in 2015, because the only reason the Clippers beat the Warriors in 2014 was because they had the better team, not because of Paul, as Curry outplayed Paul in that series. Of course the 2015 Warriors were better than Chris Paul's teams, because Curry was on the team. Curry wouldn't have choked away a 3-1 lead and a 13-point 4th quarter lead in Game 6 by dropping 1-6 FG, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk in the 4th quarter before a garbage time 3, especially with no Patrick Beverly in the series.

Even in 2013, Curry proved he was superior than Paul at carrying a team, when he took a mediocre 6-seed Warriors team past the favored Nuggets with Jarret Jack as his 2nd-best player. Barnes and Thompson played very mediocre with 15-6-1 on 46% and 15-4-2 on 46%. Curry then took the Warriors to 6 games against the Spurs with very mediocre help. Paul has never in his life led a team as mediocre as the 2013 Warriors past the first round, and Curry put up a good fight against a Spurs team that made it to Game 7 of the Finals, whereas Paul has never played a playoff team that even reached the Finals in the first place, meaning that he's not even playing against the best teams and still losing like the overrated PG he is. Paul has never won a playoff series without homecourt, so he never would have had a chance of carrying the 2013 Warriors like the vastly superior Steph Curry did, and never played a team near the level of competition that Curry did like the 2013 Spurs and 2015 Cavs who made the Finals.

3. Chauncey Billups

Billups also completely outplayed Paul in the 2009 Playoffs, it was a total annihilation. Billups isn't as impressive statistically, but Paul pretty much explains the difference between himself and Billups here, albeit unintentionally. 

"...He's (Billups) always been a winner... you see some people who, you know, can go out and score 25, 30 points every night, but their teams always lose. He's just a big time winner."

Paul is the guy that can put up numbers every night, but not lead his team anywhere. He's basically Tracy McGrady, but with a few first round wins under his belt. Billups is the guy who, regardless of his statistical production, can turn mediocre teams into title contenders, something which Paul can't do regardless of his statistical production.

It seems like a strange comparison to make, but Billups vs Paul is similar to Russell vs Wilt. Guys like Billups and Russell make their teams successful, but in comparison players like Paul and Wilt are the guys who put up numbers, but don't have what it takes to bring their teams to the next level, or in Wilt's case, not nearly as often as Russell. And although Billups and Russell's numbers don't always look great, they can put up big numbers when it's needed in addition to making their teams successful (Russell along with Hakeem is the only center to lead a championship team in points (1962) and assists (1965), and set the NBA Finals FG% record in 1965). Paul can only do the former.

Chris Paul was totally outplayed and exposed by
past-prime Billups in the 2009 Playoffs. Though Billups
wasn't always dominant statistically, he was always
consistent at turning his teams into winners, and
he could still deliver big numbers when needed. Paul
usually puts up good numbers, but can't do anything near
as much as Billups in terms of making his teams better

For example, Billups completely smoked Paul in the 2009 Playoffs, and even outplayed Melo, after Paul had his best statistical year, joining Magic and Kevin Johnson as the only players to average 20+ ppg and 10+ apg on 50% in a season (Magic and KJ did this twice). Billups also outplayed Kobe in the 2004 Finals, so he could dominate statistically if needed, but not at the cost of his team success. 

On a side note, Paul only outplayed Kobe in the 2011 1st Round, which was the absolute worst playoff run in Kobe's entire career as a starter. The next round, Kobe was outplayed by Jason Terry, so for Chris Paul at his best to outplay Kobe at his absolute worst and lose in the first round is nowhere near as impressive as Billups outplaying Kobe in the 2004 Finals, after Kobe had averaged 25-5-6-2 on 42% through 3 rounds - while sharing the ball with Shaq - as opposed to 23-3-3 on 45% in the 2011 Playoffs for 2 rounds.

Billups from 2003 to 2009 was supremely successful at making his team better to a high degree, something Paul has never done. The Pistons had not made an ECF since 1991 before acquiring Billups, and then made 6 straight ECF under Billups, including 2 NBA Finals and a championship. Billups made the 2007 and 2008 ECF without the help of 4x DPOY Ben Wallace, and Billups also didn't have Larry Brown after the 2005 Finals, yet still made 3 more ECF without the Hall of Fame coach. Granted, the East was weak after 2006, but likewise the 2009 Pistons were so weak without Billups that they went from 6 straight ECF to 39-wins and a first-round sweep in the weak East, even with Rasheed, Prince, and Hamilton on the team, after going to 6 straight ECF with Billups.

Billups then came to the tougher Western Conference, and picked up where he left off, taking the 2009 Nuggets from a first round 8-seed sweep in 2008 to the 2009 WCF, while completely exposing and outplaying Paul in the process. In his first year in the tough Western Conference, Billups did what Paul hasn't been able to do in his entire career, and led a mediocre first round team to the 2009 WCF. And this wasn't even prime Billups. Billups proved that he could take any 8-seed team in the East or West that would normally get swept in the first round - even a losing 39-43 Pistons team, and make them a Conference Finals contender, regardless of his statistical production. That's far more impressive than a guy who puts up first-round inflated playoff stats and never played a playoff team that was good enough to make the Finals. Chris Paul is the guy you want on a fantasy team, but Billups is the guy you want on a championship team

Billups also elevated Carmelo's game to a whole other level while playing with him in Denver. As of 2015, Carmelo has shot 50% in only 15 out of 66 playoff games in his career, but 10 of those 15 games came while playing with Billups in 2009 and 2010. Carmelo shot at least 50% in 10 out of 22 playoff games with Billups, but only shot 50% in 5 out of 44 of his remaining playoff games. Rip Hamilton also averaged 20+ ppg in 5 of 6 playoff runs with Billups from 2003 to 2008, but only 13.3 ppg and 13.0 ppg in his other 2 playoff runs as a starter without Billups.

Paul has never shown that he can elevate his team or teammates like Billups did. If you want empty stats, take Chris Paul, but your team damn sure isn't going anywhere. If you want your team to win games and make several Conference Finals, at the very least, and a guy who can still outplay superstars like Kobe (2004), Melo (2009), and Paul (2009) when he has to, Billups is the clear and obvious choice.

4. Steve Nash
Steve Nash was also vastly superior to Paul, both statistically and team-wise. Nash also shot over 50% in 6 seasons, something Paul only has done once, making Nash the vastly more efficient player as well. In his first season in Phoenix, Nash took the Suns from 29 wins to 62 wins in 2005, with Nash as the only major addition to the roster. And he led them to the 2005 WCF, a place that Paul still can't reach. Joe Johnson had an orbital bone fracture in the 2nd round against the Mavericks, causing him to miss the last 4 games of the series and the first 2 against the Spurs in the WCF. In spite of being undermanned, Nash still led his team to the 2005 WCF, which Paul can't do even with a fully healthy team.

The next year, after losing Joe Johnson to the Hawks and Amare to injury, Nash was still able to take the 2006 Suns to 54 wins (the only time Paul reached 50+ wins with the Hornets was in 2008, and that was 56 wins with Chandler, West, and Peja) and, of course, back to back WCF with an shorthanded team both times. Let's not forget that the 2008 Hornets were also an elite defense, top 5 in ppg allowed, whereas Nash under Dantoni never had the benefit of playing under an elite defense. The Suns were top 10 worst in ppg allowed each year that Nash was there. In 2010, Nash led the league in apg at age 36 and led the Suns to the WCF again, losing to the champion Lakers. Paul has failed to reach the WCF despite having the fortune of never playing a team that was good enough to make the Finals after beating him. Even at 36 years old, Nash was better than Paul ever was, leading the Suns to the 2010 WCF averaging 18-10 on 52%.

The extent to which Nash turned around the
Suns far exceeds that of Chris Paul on his teams,
especially the 2006 WCF run with no Amare

Nash carried a team without his best PF to the 2006 WCF, and back from a 3-1 lead against the Lakers (whereas Paul chokes away 3-1 leads, you can only dream of seeing him come back from one). Even with a better coach in Doc Rivers, a 2x rebounding champ in Deandre, and arguably the best PF in the league in Blake Griffin, Paul can't lead that stacked team past the 2nd round. Under Nash, that Clippers team and the 2008 Hornets would be making multiple NBA Finals. Under Paul, the 2006 Suns with no Amare wouldn't even get out the first round.

Nash also has far superior intangibles than Chris Paul as a leader.

• Mike D'antoni has an 0-8 playoff record as a head coach without Nash
• Alvin Gentry made the playoffs only once in 9 seasons as a head coach without Nash, when the 1999 Pistons lost in the 1st round. Nash led both of these coaches to the WCF
• Raja Bell never made the playoffs as a starter without Nash
• Shawn Marion only has one playoff series of 15+ ppg without Nash, when he averaged 18.5 ppg on 37% in a 1st-round loss to the 2003 Spurs
• Boris Diaw only has one playoff run of 10+ ppg without Nash, when he averaged 11.6 ppg in a 1st-round loss to the 2015 Clippers
• Quentin Richardson never had 10 ppg in a playoff series without Nash

The only thing CP3 fans will be able to criticize Nash for is his defense, but need I remind you that in the playoffs, when it matters, Paul has almost always been outplayed by good PGs (Westbrook, Curry, Billups, Parker 2012)? So the defense argument isn't going to help Paul's case. Nash could be the worst defensive PG of all-time, and in spite of that he'll still be a vastly superior PG than Paul can ever hope to be. Not just superior, but vastly superior.

5. Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd, like Billups, doesn't look so good on the stat sheet in spite of his triple doubles, especially when you look at his poor FG%. That can easily be disregarded when you factor in a few things

1. Jason Kidd is the best rebounding guard of all-time after 6-9 Magic Johnson
2. Jason Kidd was vastly superior on defense than Paul. Not just superior, but vastly superior
3. Jason Kidd was vastly superior than Paul in terms of making his teams better, and turning wack teams into contenders. Not just superior, but vastly superior.

The first one is easy to see, Paul never averaged more than 5.5 rpg in a season (2008/09, the year that he got exposed by Billups). Kidd has 13 seasons averaging 6+ rpg alone, which is a record for all guards, not just PGs. Not only that, but Kidd led the 2002 Nets in rebounding for the entire playoffs and Finals. A cool fact is that Jason Kidd is the last player to average a triple double in a playoff series, he did this in the 2002 ECF and 2007 1st Round. Kidd is also the only player to average a triple double in a playoff run past the 1st round, averaging 15-11-11 in the 2007 Playoffs for 12 games.

Paul can only dream of turning around
a team as weak as the Nets to the heights
that Kidd took them. Not to mention Kidd's
vastly superior rebounding and defense

Kidd was also way better on defense than Paul. After being the only notable addition to the Nets, who were a top 10 worst defense in 2001, they became a top 5 defense under Kidd in 2002 and top 2 in 2003. He also never had the benefit of an elite rebounder like Deandre Jordan or rim protector like Tyson Chandler during his time in New Jersey.

Kidd was also better at 1-1 defense. In 2006, he was actually able to lock down Dwyane Wade in Game 5 of the 2006 ECSF. This is the same Wade that shot 62% against the 2006 Pistons defense with 4x DPOY Ben Wallace and put up one of the best Finals performances of all-time in 2006. Imagine putting Paul on 2006 Wade? It would be like Westbrook exposing Paul x100. 

Even at age 38, Kidd was better defensively than Paul ever was in his overrated career. Just take a look at his great defense on Kobe Bryant in the 2011 WCSF and on prime LeBron in the 2011 Finals.

Lastly, Kidd could take a trash team like the Nets and make them an NBA Finals team. The 2001 Nets had 26 wins, then went to back to back 2002 and 2003 Finals. Granted, the East was weak then, but likewise the Nets were so bad they had 26 wins in the weak East. And in 2003, Kidd took the 60-win Spurs to 6 games in the Finals with an unbelievably bad supporting cast. On top of that, Kidd took the eventual 2004 champion Pistons to 7 games with basically the same roster, so Kidd could still make them an elite team regardless of the level of competition. Paul has never faced a playoff team that even made the NBA Finals, let alone win the title, in any of his playoff series, so it's doubtful that he would take Kidd's Nets teams, who were worse than any of Paul's teams, including the ones that missed the playoffs, to the heights that Kidd did. 

Can you imagine Paul trying to take Kerry Kittles, Keith Van Horn, Kenyon Martin, Jason Collins, and Todd Mccullogh to the Finals or 7 games with the 2004 Pistons? Hell no. Kidd even had the same coach that Paul did in New Orleans, Byron Scott. Martin and Jefferson have never had 13 ppg or 10 ppg, respectively, in a playoff series without Jason Kidd, despite starting in multiple playoff runs (K-Mart with the 2009 and 2010 Nuggets, Jefferson with the 2010 and 2011 Spurs), but averaged 20+ ppg with Kidd in several playoff series.

Paul is not even close to Kidd when it comes
to making one's teammates better, on either end.

So clearly, Chris Paul is not a top 5 PG of this era. Westbrook, Curry, and Billups all outplayed him in head-to-head playoff matchups, and Westbrook and Curry had less help each time. Billups was also past his prime when he outplayed Paul, but that was after Paul's best statistical year. Kidd was way, way, better defensively and at making his team better. In fact, all 5 of these PGs are vastly superior at making their team better, including Nash who took the Suns without Amare to the 2006 WCF, whereas Paul has played with one of the best PFs of this era in Blake Griffin, a 2x rebounding champ in Deandre Jordan, and still hasn't done anything notable in the playoffs. Now that it has been indisputably established that Paul is not a top 5 PG of his era, let alone top 5 all-time, it's time to see other PGs that knock Paul off the top 10 all-time list. Again, the following PGs are not listed in any particular order of ranking.

6. Magic Johnson

I mean, it's pretty obvious isn't it? Magic is the best PG in history. His only weakness was that he wasn't elite defensively, but Paul can't deliver his defense in the playoffs when it matters anyway. Paul is only good for gambling for steals in the passing lanes, which Magic could do as well, leading the league in steals per game twice each in the regular season and playoffs. Magic also has an NBA record 4 playoff series averaging a triple double.

Magic is clearly the best
PG of all-time, Chris Paul is
not even top 5 of his own era

On top of that, Magic is the best playmaker of all-time. He is the only player to average 12+ apg in an NBA Finals, and he did that 6 times, including an NBA record 14 apg in the 1985 Finals. You can make a strong cast that Magic deserves 5 Finals MVPs. In 1985 Kareem won the Finals MVP, but his scoring was heavily dependent on his point guards' presence. Magic averaged 15.2 apg for the 1985 Playoffs and 14.0 apg in the 1985 Finals, both NBA records.

Kareem never won a scoring title without Oscar, and shot his personal best 60% FG in his first year with Magic. Magic was responsible for creating everyone's scoring opportunities in that 1985 Finals, and every NBA Finals for his Lakers. In the 1988 Finals, Magic was clearly the best player, but Worthy won Finals MVP just off of Game 7 alone.

In 1980, some say that Kareem deserved MVP, but although he was the best statistically, Magic was the reason for the team's success. Kareem missed the playoffs twice in his prime and was 2-3 in playoff series in his 5 prime seasons with no Oscar or Magic from 1975 to 1979, never winning consecutive rounds in that timespan. But his career was revitalized under Magic, who clinched the 1980 Finals without Kareem, proving who was the most valuable player in turning around the Lakers' misfortunes following the 70s. Magic also won the 1988 Finals with Kareem averaging 13-4-1 on 41%, can you imagine Paul winning a series with David West or Blake Griffin playing so poorly? I don't think so. 

Let's not even get into the stacked competition that Magic faced, Dr. J's Sixers, Bird's Celtics, the Bad Boy Pistons, Jordan's Bulls, Clyde's Blazers, etc. Even after Kareem, Cooper, and Riley were gone, Magic got them to the 1991 Finals and once again averaged 12.4 apg, when nobody else has reached 12 apg in the Finals. You can make a very strong case that Magic faced the greatest overall Finals competition of all-time. In fact, the 1983 Sixers have the 2nd-best playoff record at 12-1, and the 1989 Pistons and 1991 Bulls are tied for the 3rd-best playoff record at 15-2 apiece, or tied-2nd best in the 4-round format. 

Magic has faced 11 Finals/Title teams in his playoff career. For comparison, Chris Paul has 12 playoff series in his entire career, and against 0 Finals/Title teams. Indeed, Magic has nearly as many playoff series against Finals/Title teams alone, as Chris Paul has playoff series in his entire career. Even with the 80s West being weak, Magic still proved himself against far superior competition, the toughest overall Finals competition any individual has faced due to both quantity and quality.

Chris Paul fans obsess over his AST:TO ratio, but the funny thing is Magic's playoff AST:TO ratio is still only barely behind CP3's (3.45 to 3.37) despite

- having the highest career APG in history
- it's much harder to maintain a high AST:TO ratio at a higher volume of APG
- playing 2.5 times as many games (190 to 76)
- facing 11 Finals/Title teams to CP3's 0.

if you only include 1980 - 1988 (The timespan of Magic's 5 titles) he actually has the higher AST:TO ratio between himself and CP3 (3.47 to 3.45) in almost twice as many games (144 to 76) regardless.

To cap off, Magic is the only player to average at least 20+ ppg, 10+ apg in a Finals run (1991) or title run (1987), averaging at least 21-12 both times. Magic was supremely successful at making his team and teammates better, and at dominating statistically. Paul isn't even near Magic's league. A quick summary of why Magic is by far the GOAT PG

• NBA record 4 playoff series averaging a triple double
• Only player with a title run or Finals run averaging 20-10 (ppg-apg). Averaged at least 21-12 in both 1987 and 1991 Playoffs.
• NBA record 3 playoff runs of 20-10 past the 2nd round (1986, 1987, 1991)
• NBA record 4 playoff runs of 20-10 past the 1st round (1986, 1987, 1990, 1991)
• NBA record 2 title runs averaging at least 17-10-9 (1980, 1982). Wilt is the only other person to do this in a Title/Finals run, with 22-29-9 in 1967.

• Tied-NBA record (Stockton) 2 playoff runs of 18-13 past the 1st round (1984, 1986)
• Only player to average 18-13 in a Finals run (1984) or Title run (1985)
• NBA record 5 playoff runs of 18-12 past the 1st round
• NBA record 7 playoff runs of 18-10, 18-11, and 17-12 past the 1st round
• NBA record 9 playoff runs of 17-10 and 17-11 past the 1st round

• Only player to average 14+ apg past the 2nd round* (1985, 1986)
• Only player to average 14+ apg in a title run (1985)
• Only player to average 15+ apg past the 1st round (1985 Title run and 1986 WCF run)
• Only player to average 18-14, 19-14, or 20-14 in a playoff run past the 2nd round* - 1986

*Johnny Moore averaged 22.5 and 14.6 in the Spurs 1983 WCF run, but only played 2 rounds due to a 1st-round bye, whereas Magic played at least 3 rounds in 1985 and 1986.

• Averaged 12+ apg in 6 NBA Finals. Nobody else has done this even once.
• Only PG to lead a title team in rebounding for the playoffs (1982)
• Only PG along with Jason Kidd (2002) to lead a Finals team in rebounding for the playoffs (1982 and 1983)
• Only PG with multiple Finals MVPs (3), should have been 5

7. Oscar Robertson

Oscar was also superior at making the guys around him better, Kareem in particular. In his first 2 seasons with Oscar, Kareem won the only 2 scoring titles of his career. In his first season with Oscar, Kareem won the championship and Finals MVP. In his last season with Oscar, the Bucks made Game 7 of the 1974 Finals. When Kareem got shut down by Thurmond in the 1972 Playoffs, it was Oscar's running of the offense that made Dandridge the leading scorer for the series (after Kareem's best scoring season) and let the Bucks live for another day. When Oscar played injured in the next round, Kareem and the Bucks lost.

As soon as Oscar left, Kareem missed the playoffs the next 2 years in his prime. Oscar took Kareem to 2 NBA Finals, a championship, 2 scoring titles, and as soon as Oscar retired, Kareem never sniffed those accomplishments until Magic Johnson came along. Oscar was one of the all-time greats at making the guys around him better, along with putting up good statistical numbers. Oscar is the only player to put up not only 20+ ppg 10+ apg in 5 different seasons, but 5 seasons of 30+ ppg 10+ apg.

Chris Paul can never and will never come close
to elevating the guys around him like Oscar did
with Kareem. Blake Griffin would be considered an
all-time great by now if he was playing alongside Oscar.

Oscar also took his 1963 Royals team to 7 games against the nearly unbeatable Bill Russell's Celtics (only in 1967 did a healthy Bill Russell lose a playoff series) before Kareem was even in the league and dropped 43 points in that Game 7. So Oscar could lead his own team as well. It's because of Oscar, along with Magic, that Kareem is a top 10 player of all-time. Had Paul been the one in Oscar or Magic's position, Kareem wouldn't have had nearly as much success. Paul can only dream of elevating the guys around him to the degree Oscar (and Magic) did with Kareem, on top of matching Oscar's individual dominance. 

8. Kevin Johnson
To read even more detail on Kevin Johnson, go here.

Kevin Johnson is the most underrated PG of all-time, and way better than the most overrated PG of all-time, Chris Paul. Before Barkley was even on the Suns, KJ took the Suns to back to back WCF in 1989 and 1990, upsetting the league-best record 1990 Lakers with MVP Magic Johnson, Coach Riley, Worthy, and Cooper on the team.

Kevin Johnson's accomplishments only player with Isiah and Magic to - average 20+ ppg 12+ apg in a season only player with Magic Johnson to - average 20+ ppg 12+ apg on 50% in a season - average 20+ ppg 10+ apg on 50% in 2 seasons -- KJ almost had a record 3rd season of 20-10 on 50% but shot 49.9% in 1989/90
- average 23+ ppg 12+ apg in a playoff run past the first round (1989), and the only one to do it past the 2nd round, as Magic lost in the 1990 WCSF when he averaged 25.2 ppg and 12.8 apg

only player with Magic Johnson to
- average 20+ ppg 10+ apg in 3 playoff runs past the first round
- Magic did it a record 4 times

KJ has an NBA record 5 different playoff runs averaging 20+ ppg 9+ apg
- and all of those 20-9 runs went past the first round, so he wasn't padding his playoff stats in the first round like Chris Paul, who has spent 9 of his career 13 playoff series in the first round

In his 9 years as a starter (1988/89 to 1996/97) - KJ averaged 19.8 ppg 10.0 apg on 49.7% - just short of 20 ppg 10 apg on 50% for his career as a starter - for his entire 9 years as a starter, KJ nearly averaged what only he and Magic have done in multiple seasons, 20 ppg 10 apg on 50% only player with Oscar and Isiah to - average 20+ ppg 10+ apg for 3 straight years - Magic also did this in 3 different years, but not consecutive - KJ almost tied Oscar and Isiah for a record 4th straight year of 20-10, but averaged 19.7 ppg in 1991/92 only player with Oscar and Isiah to - average 23+ ppg 11+ apg in multiple playoffs - Oscar did it in 1962, 1965, and 1967, but lost in the first round all 3 times - Isiah did it in 1985 and 1986, but lost in the 1986 first round - that makes KJ the only player to average 23-11 in multiple playoffs past the first round (1989 WCF and 1992 WCSF)

KJ is already the only player to average at least 23 ppg 11 apg in 2 playoff runs that went past the first round, and he would have done it in the 1990 Playoffs when they made a 2nd straight WCF, but KJ only averaged 21.3 ppg and 10.6 apg in that run. The problem is that KJ had two games in those 1990 Playoffs where he played limited minutes due to injury Game 1 vs 1990 Jazz (First round) K.J. had the flu, but started and tried to play. He only played 9 minutes, posting 0 points and 5 assists, before head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons sent him back to the hotel. 

Kevin Johnson led his own Suns teams with no Barkley
to back to back WCF, while also upsetting prime
MVP Magic Johnson in 1990. Chris Paul can't lead a
team with 2x rebound champ Jordan, arguably the
best PF in the league in Griffin, and a better
coach in Doc Rivers past the 2nd round.

Game 6 vs 1990 Blazers (WCF) Then in what turned out to be Phoenix's final playoff game, K.J. posted 16 points and 6 assists in 14 minutes of action. His final field goal, however, came late in the second quarter while KJ slid backwards off Kevin Duckworth's torso, causing K.J.'s left leg to snap up into the air. The result was a pulled hamstring that forced K.J. to leave the game a couple of possessions later, unable to return.  Excluding those 2 games with limited minutes, KJ averaged 23.1 ppg and 11.4 apg on 48% in that 1990 playoff run, which would have been a 3rd time that he averaged at least 23 ppg 11 apg past the first round, something no one else has done twice.  He also outplayed prime Barkley in the 1994 WCSF and 1995 WCSF against Hakeem's Rockets both times. In Game 7 of the 1995 WCSF, KJ dropped 46 pts and 10 assists on 12/26 FG and 21/22 FT. That's the 2nd highest points scored in a Game 7 and the only 45-point 10 assist performance in a Game 7. Chris Paul can only dream of stepping up like that on the big stage. Let's not forget that Paul singlehandedly cost his team in the deciding moments of each of his 2nd round exits, the majority of his playoff stats are inflated in the first round.

KJ was much better than CP3 when it came to making one's team and teammates better.
- Barkley had his 3 highest scoring playoff runs that lasted past the 1st Round while playing next to KJ (1993, 1994, 1995)
- Hornacek had his only 20+ ppg season, 20+ ppg playoffs, and all-star year next to KJ in 1992.
- Majerle only has one playoff run of 10+ ppg without KJ, a 1st-Round 3-game sweep in 1996.
- Majerle's only all-star years were with KJ.

Kevin Johnson took the Suns to back to back WCF in 1989 and 1990, and this was before Barkley was on the team. His best teammates were 
- Tom Chambers - Eddie Johnson - Jeff Hornacek, Dan Majerle, Mark West

Can you see CP3 taking Tom Chambers and Jeff Hornacek past MVP Magic Johnson's league best record 63-19 Lakers with Cooper, Worthy, and coach Pat Riley like KJ did in the 1990 WCSF? Or dropping 46-10 in a game 7 like KJ against Hakeem's 1995 champ Rockets? Not at all.

Tom Chambers averaged 26, 27, and 20 ppg in the 89, 90, and 91 seasons with KJ.
Eddie Johnson averaged 22 and 17 ppg in the 89 and 90 seasons with KJ.

KJ's best teammates in the 2 games that he was injured in 1990 Playoffs
(G1 vs Jazz, G6 vs Blazers)
- Tom Chambers - 18 ppg on 10/32 FG (31%), 4.5 TOpg
- Eddie Johnson - 8 ppg on 4/15 FG (27%)

Chambers and EJ only had such great scoring in PHX due to KJ spoon-feeding them their offense and setting them up. Without him, they were horrible in the playoffs with PHX. In contrast, Blake Griffin averaged 30-15-9 on 52% in the 2 games that CP3 missed during the 2015 WCSF, getting the Clippers a 1-1 split on the road.

On the other hand, however, Blake Griffin averaged 30-15-9 on 52% without Chris Paul in the first 2 games against the 2015 Rockets, getting the Clippers a 1-1 split on the road. So Griffin would still put up great production regardless of Chris Paul's presence, whereas Eddie Johnson and Tom Chambers were absolutely useless without KJ. If anyone brings up Chambers and Johnson's good-looking season averages, all I have to do is bring up the 2 games that KJ was injured in the 1990 Playoffs to prove that those guys only had good numbers on the Suns because they were playing next to KJ. when KJ was out, those guys played like crap and lost. They were entirely dependent on KJ to spoon-feed their offense to them. 

The 1990 Suns lost both of the playoff games that KJ left due to injury/illness. They were 0-2 without KJ in the 1990 Playoffs when he left due to injury (<15 minutes) and 9-5 when he was healthy. Add in Game 1 of the 1993 1st round when the Suns lost to the 8 seed Lakers when KJ did not play, and KJ's Suns were 0-3 in the playoffs when KJ played less than 15 minutes due to injury or did not play at all during his time as a starter. More proof that KJ is MUCH better than CP3 at making the guys around him better. On a side note - the 2016 Blazers were missing both Griffin and Paul after Game 4 against the Blazers, not CP3 alone.

The Clippers are
- 1-3 in the playoffs when CP3 plays, but not Griffin, against the 2017 Jazz
- 1-1 in the playoffs when Griffin plays, but not CP3, against a better team in the 2015 Rockets

So Griffin would still put up great production regardless of Chris Paul's presence, whereas Eddie Johnson and Tom Chambers were absolutely useless without KJ. If anyone brings up Chambers and Johnson's good-looking season averages, all I have to do is bring up the 2 games that KJ was injured in the 1990 Playoffs to prove that those guys only had good numbers on the Suns because they were playing next to KJ. when KJ was out, those guys played like crap and lost. They were entirely dependent on KJ to spoon-feed their offense to them. 

Jeff Hornaceck also had his only all-star season, 20 ppg season, and 20 ppg playoff run playing next to KJ. Charles Barkley was an all-time great with or without KJ, but also had his 3 highest playoff scoring runs past the 1st round (1993, 1994, 1995) while playing next to KJ. KJ was one of the all-time greats at making his teammates better, much moreso than the overrated Chris Paul.

The 1990 Suns lost both of those playoff games that KJ left due to injury/illness. They were 0-2 without KJ in the 1990 Playoffs when he left due to injury and 9-5 when he was healthy. Add in Game 1 of the 1993 1st round when the Suns lost to the 8 seed Lakers when KJ did not play, and KJ's Suns were 0-3 in the playoffs when KJ played less than 15 minutes due to injury or did not play at all during his time as a starter. More proof that KJ is MUCH better than CP3 at making the guys around him better

if you give KJ that stacked Clippers team and he didnt run into someone like Hakeem's Rockets, they'd have no problem making it to multiple NBA Finals. you put CP3 on the Suns with no Barkley and he wont pass the 2nd round. Hell, he won't get them past the 2nd round even with Barkley. He has arguably the best PF in the league and a 2x rebound champ and still can't get it done today. Give KJ the West, Chandler, and Peja Hornets and he'll be sure to make multiple WCF runs at the least. 

Kevin Johnson also had a winning record in every season of his career as a starter when he played. The 1996 and 1997 Suns didn't have winning records because Kevin Johnson missed a lot of games, but when he played they had a winning record. KJ's teams almost always did worse in the regular season without him. Even if they didn't, we can always remember that in the playoffs when it mattered, they were 0-3 without him or with him injured during his time as a starter

1989/90 Suns = 51-23 (0.689 win%) with KJ and Conference Finals (beat MVP Magic) Suns = 3-5 (0.375 win%) without KJ 1990/91 Suns = 53-24 (0.688 win%) with KJ Suns = 2-3 (0.400 win%) without KJ The only years that KJ did not have as big impact are when Barkley was on the team, but even with Barkley on the team the Suns still sometimes did much worse without KJ 1992/93 Suns = 37-12 (0.755 win%) with KJ Suns = 25-8 (0.758 win%) without KJ (with MVP Barkley) Suns were 0-1 against the 8-seed Lakers in the playoffs without KJ, but they were 3-1 when KJ came back. Proof that the Suns were only good without KJ in the regular season, not the playoffs  1993/94 Suns = 49-18 (0.731 win%) with KJ Suns = 7-8 (0.467 win%) without KJ (with Barkley) 1994/95 Suns = 32-15 (0.681 win%) with KJ Suns = 27-8 (0.771 win%) without KJ (with Barkley) but then KJ outplayed Barkley in the 1995 WCSF especially Game 7 1995/96 Suns = 30-26 (0.536 win%) with KJ Suns = 11-15 (0.423 win%) without KJ (with Barkley) And the most impressive 1996/97 Suns = 39-31 (0.557 win%) with KJ Suns = 1-11 (0.083 win%) without KJ (no Barkley) The 1997 Suns were easily the worst team in the league without KJ and would be lucky to crack 15 wins. When he played, they had a very respectable 0.557 win% which is a 45 or 46 win pace. This was the last relatively healthy season of KJ's career, after this his injuries and hernias caught up to him. Even in his last good season, KJ had more team impact than Chris Paul can ever dream of. You can put a relatively healthy KJ on the absolute worst team in the league, and they will still be a solid playoff team at the worst. If you put Chris Paul on a 1-11 team they won't even crack 0.500 with Paul in the lineup. The 2010 Hornets team was only 23-22 when Paul played and 14-23 when he didn't play. he barely got them a 0.500 record and they were much better than KJ's 1997 team

In the 1997/98 season the Suns were 15-2 when KJ played 30+ minutes. He planned on retiring after the 1997 season but still had a huge impact when he got enough playing time the next season, even after his injuries. KJ always had a huge impact on his team's W-L column, either in the regular season or playoffs, during his pre-injury career, and to a far higher degree than Paul can ever dream of. The only reason Kevin Johnson isn't a top 5 PG of all-time is because of injuries that cut his career short. KJ is one of the top 3 or 4 PGs of all-time for prime or peak value behind Magic and maybe Oscar or Curry. Paul isn't anywhere near that class

Prime KJ also outperformed Paul statistically in a comparison of their best seasons, especially considering Paul only once shot 50% in a season (only to get dominated by Billups in the playoffs), and that KJ was playing under tougher defensive restrictions, which we will get to after discussing the next 2 PGs on this countdown.

Kevin Johnson's 6 best seasons 

20.4 ppg 12.2 apg on 51%

22.5 ppg 11.4 apg on 50%

22.2 ppg 10.1 apg on 52%

19.7 ppg 10.7 apg on 48%

20.0 ppg 9.5 apg on 49%

20.1 ppg 9.3 apg on 50%

Chris Paul's 6 best seasons

22.8 ppg 11.0 apg on 50%

21.1 ppg 11.0 apg on 49%

19.1 ppg 10.7 apg on 47%

19.1 ppg 10.2 apg on 49%

18.7 ppg 10.7 apg on 49%

19.8 ppg 9.1 apg on 48%

And this is not factoring in that KJ had a record two 23-11 playoff runs past the first round (1989, 1992), and what really should have been a third run (1990) if not for injuries, as well as a record 5 playoff runs of 20-9 (all which went past the first round) and 2nd all-time in 20-10 playoff runs past the first round with 3, behind Magic Johnson's 4. Another interesting note is that in all of Kevin Johnson's 20-9 and 20-10 playoff runs, he lost to a team that went on to either make the Finals (1989 Lakers, 1990 and 1992 Blazers) or win it all (1994 and 1995 Rockets), whereas Chris Paul has NEVER played a playoff team that went on to make the Finals, let alone win it all. Replace the overrated Paul with the underrated Kevin Johnson, and he would have EASILY taken the Hornets to multiple WCF runs at the least, and the Clippers would have been in multiple NBA Finals by now, with probably at least one championship.

Only players to average 20-10 (ppg-apg) in multiple playoffs past the 1st round - Magic Johnson x4 (1986, 1987, 1990, 1991) - Kevin Johnson x3 (1989, 1990, 1992) - Steve Nash x2 (2005, 2006) - Deron Williams x2 (2008, 2010) Only players to average 20-10 (ppg-apg) in multiple playoffs past the 2nd round - Magic Johnson x3 (1986, 1987, 1991) - Kevin Johnson x2 (1989, 1990) - Steve Nash x2 (2005, 2006) Only player to average 20+ ppg, 9+ apg in 5 playoff runs - Kevin Johnson, all of which were past the 1st round - 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 - this is an NBA record for 20-9 playoff runs, even if you include 1st round exits

Only player to average 24+ ppg, 9+ apg in 2 playoff runs past the 1st round
- Kevin Johnson x2 (1994, 1995)
- also an NBA record

Only player to average 23-11 (ppg-apg) in multiple playoffs past the 1st round - Kevin Johnson x2 (1989, 1992) - also an NBA record

KJ would have done this a 3rd time in 1990, but was injured in his first and last game of the playoffs which brought his averages under the 23-11 cutoff while only playing 9 and 14 minutes in those games. Chambers and Eddie Johnsons stats also plummeted in those games without KJ to feed them.

Kevin Johnson's Playoff records

1. NBA records for most playoff runs (ppg-apg) of 
- 20-8 past the 1st Round (5)
- 21-8 past the 1st Round (5)
- 20-9 past the 1st Round (5)
- 21-9 past the 1st Round (5)
- 22-8 past the 1st Round (4)
- 23-8 past the 1st Round (4)
- 22-9 past the 1st Round (4) 
- 23-9 past the 1st Round (4)
- 24-8 past the 1st Round (2) - Tied with Isiah, Oscar, Westbrook
- 24-9 past the 1st Round (2)
- 22-10 past the 1st Round (2)
- 23-10 past the 1st Round (2)
- 22-11 past the 1st Round (2)
- 23-11 past the 1st Round (2)

2. Only player to average
- 22-12 or 23-12 in a playoff run past the 2nd round

3. 2nd all-time, behind Magic Johnson, in playoff runs (ppg-apg) of
- 20-10 past the 1st Round (3) 
- 21-10 past the 1st Round (2)
- 21-11 past the 1st Round (2)
- 20-9 past the 2nd round (2) - Tied with Nash
- 21-9 past the 2nd round (2)
- 20-10 past the 2nd round (2) - Tied with Nash
- 21-10 past the 2nd round (2)

Chris Paul's Playoff records

1. Highest AST:TO ratio in a playoff run past the 1st round (min. 11 APG)

Other players have higher AST:TO ratios with less APG however
- Fat Lever - highest AST:TO ratio past 1st Rd (min. 3.5 APG)
- Johnny Moore - highest AST:TO ratio past 1st Rd (min. 8, 9, or 10 APG)

2. Tied-Most all-star teams (9) without passing the 2nd round with Dominique Wilkins
- however, Dominique lost to 2 championship teams (86 Celtics, 93 Bulls)
- CP3 has never faced a team that even made the Finals after beating him

3. Most playoff games (76) without reaching a Conference Finals
- despite the luxury of never having to face a Finals/Title team

Not only did KJ set a significantly higher number of playoff records than CP3, he did it against significantly better competition. KJ lost to 6 teams that either made the Finals or won it all. CP3 faced 0 teams that even made the Finals after beating him, let alone win it all. In each of KJ's playoff runs where he averaged those numbers under his list of records, he lost to either a Finals or Title team. KJ also played with lesser supporting casts than CP3 in his pre-Barkley years, and even when he had Barkley he played significantly better playoff competition regardless in 3 championship teams to CP3 facing 0 teams that even made the Finals.

So KJ was putting up far more impressive statistical performances in the playoffs than Paul, while playing more games per playoff run, in the later rounds, and against vastly superior competiton. Not just superior competition, but vastly superior competition. KJ was clearly the vastly superior playoff performer, and in big games like Game 7 vs the 1995 Rockets. KJ was vastly superior statistically, in terms of making his teams better, doing more with less, and against better competition, and especially in the playoffs. KJ is not just a superior PG than Paul, but a vastly superior PG.

9. John Stockton

Stockton is superior than Paul for longevity, for having multiple playoff runs deeper than Paul's, being a superior playoff and regular season performer, being better defensively, and playing better competition. Throwing Paul against Stockton's competition like Magic/Kareem in 1988, and the 90s of Payton/Kemp (the 1996 team who locked down every Hall of Famer they went against), Jordan's Bulls, Hakeem's Rockets, etc. would have absolutely killed Paul. Stockton also played better in big games like Game 7 vs the 1988 Lakers (29-20 with 5 steals on 67%), Game 7 vs 1996 Sonics (22-8-7-4 on 60%), Game 6 vs 1997 Rockets (25-13 on 53% and the series-winning shot), (17-7-15 on 67% at age 37 in elimination Game 5 vs Sonics) etc. whereas Paul choked away his team's chances in all of his 2nd round exits as seen above. 

We already saw that Nash was better than Paul, and Stockton was better than Nash statistically, and under tougher defensive restrictions 

Steve Nash's 2 MVP seasons 

15.5 ppg 11.5 apg on 50%

18.8 ppg 10.5 apg on 51%

John Stocktons' five best seasons
14.7 ppg 13.8 apg on 57%
17.1 ppg 13.6 apg on 51%
17.2 ppg 14.5 apg on 51%
17.2 ppg 14.2 apg on 51%
15.8 ppg 13.7 apg on 48%

and Stockton was superior defender than Nash on defense as well. Stockton wasn't necessarily a 1-1 lockdown defender, though he was underrated in that aspect, but his help defense and instincts were exceptional. 

Being a 9x assist champ and 10x playoff apg leader also doesn't hurt, along with co-leading the Jazz to 5 WCF runs and 2 NBA Finals (against better competition than what Paul faces). Even at 37, Stockton co-led the 2000 Jazz to a 2nd round exit while leading the playoffs in apg, which is nearly all that Paul is good for in his prime.

One of the favorite stats that CP3 fans like to cite is his claim to having the highest regular season AST:TO ratio in NBA history. Well, Stockton holds that record in the playoffs, when it matters most, with a 3.56:1 ratio. It's also worth nothing that Stockton made the playoffs every year of his career up to age 40, maintaining those averages for a much longer time on top of facing better competition and in longer playoff runs.

Stockton was also better than Paul statistically
while playing way better competition. Stockton
also did his job in co-leading the Jazz in multiple
WCF runs and 2 NBA Finals against Jordan's Bulls.

And on top of that, Paul has it easier than Stockton, and all 80/90s PGs, when it comes to putting up numbers thanks to more favorable rule changes, evidenced by Stockton's numbers going up following the rule changes.

By the time the rule changes came around, Stockton was a senior citizen.
15th season - 11.1 ppg + 7.5 apg (Age 36 - 98-99 season)
Then rule changes happened

16th season - 12.1 ppg + 8.6 apg (Age 37)
17th season - 11.5 ppg + 8.7 apg (Age 38)
18th season - 13.4 ppg + 8.2 apg (Age 39)
19th season - 10.8 ppg + 7.7 apg (Age 40)

Stockton's FG% increased every season from his 15th season to his 18th season. It was not until his 4th season after the rule changes at age 40 that Stockton regressed to the same production as his last season under the rule changes at age 36, and his apg was higher in every season post-rule changes than in 98/99 before the rule changes took place. Stockton would have loved to play under the more favorable rules for PGs that Paul benefits from. Even with that hindrance, Stockton still outperforms him against better competition. 

Prime Stockton in playoffs that only lasted 1-2 rounds
1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995

18.2 PPG - 3.7 RPG - 13.4 APG
2.45 SPG - 0.29 BPG - 3.5 TOpg

49% FG - 83% FT
3.80 AST:TO ratio

Lost to 2 Title teams (88 Lakers, 95 Rockets)

Had Stockton had the statistical luxury that CP3 does, of playing only in 1-2 round playoffs in his prime, he'd have the highest playoff APG by a comfortable margin. 13.4 APG to Magic's 12.3 APG. Also would have the highest playoff SPG average, 2.45 to Baron Davis' 2.28.

Chris Paul playoff career 2008 - 2017
All Runs lasted only 1-2 rounds

21.4 PPG - 4.7 RPG - 9.4 APG
2.21 SPG - 0.09 BPG - 2.7 TOpg

48% FG - 85% FT
3.45 AST:TO ratio

Lost to 0 Finals/Title teams

Stockton's assist advantage (+4.0) is much greater than any of CP3's advantages combined (+3.2 PPG, +1.0 RPG, -0.8 TOpg) since it accounts for at least a 8 PPG advantage.

Even more proof of why Chris Paul's stats are incomparable to the real all-time greats, since they come under such easier circumstances. Prime Stockton would have the highest career playoff APG average, by a comfortable margin, and the highest career playoff SPG average if he only played in 1-2 round playoffs as Chris Paul did, and this is before factoring in that Stockton lost to 2 Finals/Title teams, an obstacle that CP3 never dealt with.

10. Gary Payton

Payton was also vastly superior to Paul, and his defense is the main reason. Paul as we saw was outplayed by Westbrook, Curry, and Billups in playoff matchups, and failed to make a mark on Parker's numbers in the 2008 WCSF.

Payton took on and locked down some of the toughest playoff matchups in history 

• Tim Hardaway 1992 
• Kevin Johnson 1993 and 1997
• John Stockton 1996 
• Michael Jordan 1996 
• Scottie Pippen for short stretches in the 1996 Finals
• Stephon Marbury 1998 
• Tony Parker 2004
• Parker averaged 21.0 ppg 8.5 apg on 53% in the 2004 Playoffs prior to getting shut down by 35-year old Payton
• Parker exposed prime Paul in the 2008 WCSF, and outplayed him in Games 2-3-4 of the 2012 WCSF after both Parker and Paul had terrible Game 1 performances
• Rip Hamilton 2006
• averaged 20 ppg on 49% for the 2005/06 season
• Chauncey Billups 2006
• old Billups exposed and outplayed prime Paul in 2009, but 37-year old Payton locked down prime Billups in 2006.

Imagine CP3 trying to guard Pippen or Jordan for long stretches? He couldnt even lock down 2008 Parker, and was outplayed by 2012 Parker, but 35 year old Payton shut him down. While prime Paul's overrated defense was exposed by Tony Parker and outplayed by Chauncey Billups, old Payton shut down Parker and played good defense on prime Billups in 2006 (but not 2004). Gary Payton is easily the best defensive PG of all-time, it's not even close, and astronomically better than Paul on that end. No other perimeter player besides Jordan took on and locked down as many notable matchups. Defensively, GP absolutely destroys Paul.

Offensively, Payton might be a little behind Paul, but not by much considering he didn't benefit from favorable rule changes until after his prime

Putting a defensive legend like prime Payton
on the 2008 Hornets or Paul's Clippers, on
top of favorable offensive rules would lead
to multiple WCF runs at the very least.

Gary Payton

In his prime, 1995-1999
6th season -  19.3 ppg + 7.5 apg (Age 27) 
7th season -  21.8 ppg + 7.1 apg (Age 28)
8th season -  19.2 ppg + 8.3 apg (Age 29)
9th season -  21.7 ppg + 8.7 apg (Age 30)

post 98-99 rule changes
10th season -  24.2 ppg + 8.9 apg (age 31) - 99-00 season 
11th season -  23.1 ppg + 8.1 apg (Age 32)
12th season -  22.1 ppg + 9.0 apg (Age 33)
13th season -  20.4 ppg + 8.3 apg (Age 34)

Payton's FG% increased every year from his 9th season to his 12th season, with only a 1.3% decrease in his 13th season. His scoring was also better from age 31-33 than it was from 27 to 30, and his assists at age 31 and 33 were the best of his career despite not having Shawn Kemp to lob to. Prime Payton under the modern rules probably would have been a 25-10 monster, or better, with his amazing defense on top of that. Under the same rules, GP's offensive numbers would look just as good, if not better, than Paul's, and this is not factoring in that 04/05 rules further made it easier for offensive players. That still wouldn't be enough to offset prime Payton's impact on D, as a 35 year old Payton still shut down Tony Parker in the 2004 WCSF as well as locking down Billups and Hamilton in 2006.

Payton's 1996 Playoff run was also better than any of Paul's, considering he locked down Stockton and Jordan, and averaged 22-5-7-2 on 50% through 3 rounds, under tougher defensive restrictions, prior to getting locked down by the best team of all-time and the best perimeter defender ever. Paul can't even make it past 2 rounds and 9 of his career 11 playoff series are spent in the first round, making his playoff numbers worth far less.

11. Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas was also way better than Chris Paul. Along with Oscar he is the only player to average 20+ ppg 10+ apg for 4 straight seasons, or 4 seasons in general. Isiah is also the only player with Magic and Kevin Johnson to average 20+ ppg 12+ apg in a season, a class that Paul is far beneath as seen earlier. Isiah's Game 6 performance in the 1988 Finals against the Lakers is also better than any of Paul's playoff performances, and his 1990 Finals MVP cements that he is superior to Paul, dropping 28-5-7-2 on 54% against a great Blazers team. Isiah won both of his titles without a 20+ ppg playoff scorer, and with DPOY Dennis Rodman injured in the 1990 Finals. Rodman missed 1 game and had to play 2 games off the bench due to his ankle injury, after starting for the first 3 rounds.

Isiah Thomas has the highest 3PT% for a Finals career of any player to average 15+ PPG at 46% 3PT. None of the players ahead of Isiah in career Finals 3PT% averaged 15 ppg for one NBA Finals series, let alone Finals career. The closest was Danny Green with 14 PPG in the 2013 Finals. Isiah averaged 22.6 PPG for his Finals career on 48/46/79, so he was far ahead of the other Finals 3PT% leaders in scoring volume.

With Paul being a 2nd round exit at best, and spending 9 of his 13 career playoff series in the first round, and against weaker opponents than Isiah's (Bird, Magic, Jordan) makes it no debate. Isiah won in a harder era, with better regular season and playoff performances, beat better competition, and led his team to two championships. Even in 1989 when Dumars won Finals MVP, Isiah was the best player in the playoffs, leading the Pistons in points, assists, and steals, and leading Dumars in 5/5 categories. Isiah also led Detroit to their first Finals in 1988, being the clear best player for the playoffs and Finals, and was one questionable foul call in Game 6 of the 1988 Finals from achieving a 3peat. Those 3 Finals runs and 2 title runs as the best player by themselves vastly exceed anything Paul has achieved in his overrated career. 

In fact, Isiah is the only PG besides Magic Johnson to lead a team to the championship as the best player multiple times, though Curry will probably join them. That alone surpasses anything the overrated Chris Paul has done, especially factoring in that he never played the best playoff teams and still continued to lose. Paul's played on a Clippers that is more than good enough to contend and hasn't been good enough to make them legit contenders past the 2nd round. 

Isiah's playoff career (9 of 23 series in the 1st round)
20.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 8.9 apg on 44%

Chris Paul (9 of 13 series in the 1st round)
21.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 9.4 apg on 48%

Isiah's stats are slightly lower, but for a few reasons

1. Isiah played 14 of his 23 playoff series (61%) past the 1st round, whereas Chris Paul only played 4 of his 12 playoff series (33%) past the 1st round. In fact, Isiah has more playoff series past the 1st round alone (14) than Paul does in his entire career (13).

2. Isiah played against far superior competition. None of the teams that beat Chris Paul went on to even make the Finals. Isiah faced 6 Finals/Title teams in the 1985 Celtics, 1987 Celtics, 1988 Lakers, 1989 Lakers, 1990 Blazers, and 1991 Bulls.

3. Isiah played 111 playoff games to Paul's 76. The fact that Isiah played much more often, in longer playoff runs, and after his prime yet still has stats just slightly behind prime Chris Paul's heavily inflated numbers shows how much vastly superior Isiah is.

Isiah's numbers are far more impressive considering he had to play more games per playoff run, against better opponents, and while leading his team to 2 championships. Isiah Thomas had 0 teammates averaging 20+ PPG or 11+ RPG during any of the 1988, 1989, and 1990 Playoffs during his 3 consecutive Finals runs and back-to-back title runs. Meanwhile Chris Paul needed a teammate with 22-24 PPG and 11-15 RPG in 3 of his only 4 single playoff series wins, all of which came in 1st round series alone.

Paul would have never stood a chance
against the stacked competition Isiah faced.

Deron Williams at his best was also better than Chris Paul at his best. The only reason that Deron Williams won't rank higher than Paul on the all-time list is because Williams became irrelevant after his 5th season and only had 3 good playoff runs. Although Williams' 2007, 2008, and 2010 Playoff runs are superior to any run by the overrated Paul, Paul was consistent for a longer period of time. Paul's consistency in this sense is relative only to Deron Williams, his "consistency" on an all-time scale isn't that impressive considering his multiple playoff failures and never playing the best opponents, and the fact that he was outplayed in nearly all playoff series against notable PGs.

The only players with multiple 20-10 (ppg-apg) runs past the 1st round are - Magic Johnson x4 - 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991 - Kevin Johnson x3 - 1989, 1990, 1992 - Steve Nash x2 - 2005, 2006 - Deron Williams x2 - 2008, 2010

In 2007, Williams' 2nd year and first year as a full-time starter, he led the Jazz to the 2007 WCF where they lost to the Spurs. Unlike Chris Paul, Williams legitimately had little help when losing to the Spurs. And the 2007 Spurs went on to win the championship, whereas none of the Spurs teams Paul played against even made the Finals. The only teammate of Williams in double figures for the 2007 WCF was Carlos Boozer, who had 21 ppg on 53%. 

Deron Williams' 2007, 2008, and 2010 runs
are superior to any playoff run of Paul's career.
Luckily for Paul, Williams' career fizzled out
after his 4th year as a starter, or else there would
be another PG ahead of him on the all-time list.

However, even Boozer's scoring was created for him by Williams running the offense. Only once in his career has Boozer had over 15 ppg in a series without Williams, when he had 17.4 ppg against the weak Nets in the 2013 1st Round. Williams had 26-4-8-2 on 53% in the 2007 WCF. For the playoffs as a whole, Mehmet Okur was his only other double digit scoring teammate and he shot a poor 12 ppg on 39%. Boozer was his only good help, and even Boozer's production was dependent on Williams creating his opportunities for him.

In 2008, Williams led the Jazz to the WCSF, averaging 22-10 on 49% for the playoffs. They lost to the Lakers who went on to make the Finals. Again, Paul has never played a playoff team that went on to make the Finals or win it all, but Williams in his first 2 years as a starter was already putting up great numbers and while playing against Finals and championship-caliber teams. In 2009, Williams' Jazz lost in the first round to the eventual champion Lakers with Williams putting up 20-11 but on a sub-par 41%. Paul in 2009 was getting destroyed and outplayed by Chauncey Billups in the first round.

And in 2010, Williams' last relevant year, he averaged 24-10 on 45% for the playoffs and led them to the WCSF where they again lost to the eventual champion Lakers. Unlike Paul, Williams outplayed Chauncey Billups in the first round. And Paul clearly had far superior help compared to Williams. Deron Williams never played with anyone as good as Blake Griffin and never had an interior defender as good as Tyson Chandler - the main reason Duncan shot his 2nd-worst FG% of his playoff career in the 2008 WCSF. He also never had a 2x rebounding champ like Deandre Jordan. Then add in that Paul had David West in New Orleans and Jamal Crawford (6th man of the year) plus coach Doc Rivers in LA.

In his first 4 years as a starter, Williams led the Jazz to a WCF, lost to 3 championship teams and 1 Finals team, and averaged at least 20+ ppg and 10+ apg in 2 playoff runs past the first round. Steve Nash (2 times), Kevin Johnson (3 times), and Magic Johnson (4 times) are the only other players to do so. Noticeably, the overrated Paul is not included on that list. Prime for prime, Deron Williams was clearly superior than Chris Paul as a player, but he didn't maintain his prime for a long enough time to warrant a higher all-time rank.

Deron Williams 2007-2010 Playoffs
4 playoff series after the 1st round
Faced 3 Title teams, 1 Finals team

21.1 ppg - 3.7 rpg - 9.6 apg
46% FG - 40% 3PT - 80% FT

Chris Paul 2008-2009, 2011-2017 Playoffs
4 playoff series after the 1st round
Faced 0 Title teams, 0 Finals teams

21.4 ppg - 4.7 rpg - 9.4 apg
48% FG - 38% FT - 85% FT

Considering D-Will's far greater quality of competition, his numbers are more impressive despite Paul's +0.3 ppg, +1.0 rpg, -0.2 apg in a vacuum. Paul is better than DWill career wise because of longevity, but prime for prime DWill was better. He is the only player along with Magic and Kevin Johnson with multiple playoffs of 21-10 past the 1st round. Nash had multiple 20-10 runs but not 21-10. Though Nash is the only player with Magic and KJ to have multiple 20-10 runs past the 2nd round, D-Will had no 20-10 runs past the 2nd round.

Allen Iverson and Jerry West were also better than Chris Paul, but I tend to rank them as SGs instead of PGs, even though they could fill both roles. For that reason we won't discuss why they, too, are superior to Paul. 

6. "Chris Paul's team wouldn't even be in that position without him"
First, Paul already has had much more help than his apologists like to admit, both with the Hornets and Clippers. David West, Tyson Chandler, and Peja Stojakovic all experienced playoff success without having Chris Paul by their side. Chandler did an amazing job defending Duncan in 2008, and Pargo kept the Hornets alive with 16 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7 against the Spurs. Paul wasn't even the best player on his team when they lost to the 2012 Spurs behind Griffin and Bledsoe. He was outplayed by Curry in the 2014 Playoffs, but still won due to his superior supporting cast. The Clippers also got a 1-1 split in Houston without Chris Paul in the 2015 WCSF - giving him homecourt advantage and a headstart. Griffin also outplayed Harden in that series, so the theory about Paul having a lack of help needs to be seriously reconsidered. Griffin averaged 30-15-9 on 52% without Paul even playing in the first 2 games. It's not a matter of Chris Paul not having enough help to make his teams into legit contenders, it's a matter of Chris Paul proving time and time and time again that none of his teams will ever be a legit contender as long as he is the number 1 option.

Second, you can say the same about any great PG. When Westbrook wasn't there in 2013, OKC lost to the Grizzlies. When Jason Kidd wasn't there, the Nets won 26 games. When Nash wasn't there, the 04 Suns won 29 games. During Kevin Johnson's time as a starter, the Suns were 0-3 without him in the playoffs, or if he played less than 15 minutes due to injury. After Magic left, the Lakers went from 1991 Finals to 1st round exit. After Oscar retired, Kareem went from Game 7 of the NBA Finals to back to back missed playoffs in his prime, and on and on and on and on. Hell, even the 2015 Wizards lost to the Hawks when John Wall was injured. So that doesnt make Paul special. Any great PG's team won't get anywhere without them, but the difference is that those truly all-time great PGs, a class in which Paul does not belong, can take those sub-par teams to greater heights than the 2nd round. The only Chris Paul stat that will matter is the most all-star selections without a Conference Finals appearance. He is tied with Dominique Wilkins and needs 1 more selection to pass him.

In summary, Chris Paul had

- a 20+ ppg teammate in all four of his 2nd-round series exits (2008, 2012, 2014, 2015)

- a 22-24 ppg and 11-15 rpg teammate in 3 of his 4 series wins

- had Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan lead all players in both teams in PPG, RPG, BPG in 2 of his 4 series wins (2014 and 2015 1st Rounds)

- while never facing the best teams - no team that beat him made the Finals.

The facts are there, Chris Paul is the most overrated point guard of all-time.

SECTION 1 - Players From Jordan's Day Against 2000s Defenses

- Looking at how the Jordan Era players had an easier time in the modern era

SECTION 2 - How Washed-up Jordan Did Against the Top Defenders of the "Advanced, More Athletic, Superior" 2000s Era

- Looking at how a 38-40 year old Jordan himself schooled the 2000s defenders

SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s

SECTION 4 - The "Jordan Never Faced Zone" Myth

- Destroying the myth that Jordan never played zone defense

SECTION 5 - The Myth That 80s/90s Defenses Can't Contain Modern Players Without the 80s/90s Rules

- Proof that 80s/90s players would still have success guarding 2000s players without the 80s/90s rules

SECTION 6 - The Myth of Jordan's Inability to Deal with 80s Teams, and the Truth About Expansion

- Looking at how Jordan did against the 80s teams and why expansion did not make it easier to win championships

SECTION 7 - "Jordan Played Weak Competition in the 80s/90s"

- Proof that Jordan's Competition was 80s-quality and far better than the 2000s era

SECTION 8 - The Myth that Jordan Was Not As Valuable to His Teams' Success

- Looking at the truth of how the Bulls did without Jordan, and how other great teams did without their stars.

SECTION 9 - "Jordan Got All the Calls"

- Did Jordan really get any more special treatment than other superstars? Nope.

SECTION 10 - Wilt Chamberlain: Great, but Far From the Greatest

- Exposing the myths behind the great, but misunderstood, Wilt Chamberlain

SECTION 11 - The "Lebron is a 6-8 250 Freight Train and too Big/Strong/Fast to be Guarded in the 80s/90s era" Myth

- Looking at how Lebron got locked down by defenders of the 2000s era and comparing them to the vastly superior 80s/90s

SECTION 12 - Lebron: The Most Overrated Defender of All-Time

- Destroying one of the media's biggest misconceptions regarding Lebron's solid but vastly overrated defense

SECTION 13 - "Lebron Doesn't Have Enough Help, and No One Can Carry a Team Like Him"

- Lebron fans think no player in history could succeed if their teammates don't step up, and that Lebron is the only one who has carried a team on his back. Is that really the case?

SECTION 14 - Jordan vs Lebron: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Lebron comparison

SECTION 15 - Jordan vs Kobe: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Kobe comparison

SECTION 16 - Jordan (and Hakeem) vs Kareem

- Kareem is great, but he is not even the greatest center of all-time, let alone the greatest of all-time.

SECTION 17 - The Truth about Michael Jordan Without Scottie Pippen

- The full context behind Jordan's struggles without Pippen

SECTION 18 - Michael Jordan's Wizards Years

- A look at how Jordan turned the Wizards around before his knee injury caught up to him

SECTION 19 - The Case for Jordan as the Best Perimeter Defender of All-Time

- Looking at Jordan's defensive impact in detail, both as a team player and 1 on 1 defender

SECTION 20 - Why Jordan Would Accomplish More In Cleveland and Miami than LeBron

- Looking at the strong evidence supporting that Jordan would have achieved more than what LeBron has in Cleveland and Miami 

SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it

SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time

SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time

SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history

SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history

SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team

SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history

SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs

SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.

SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals

SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present

SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals

SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win