It’s common knowledge that CP3 improves teams whenever he joins them. Did he treat the Dubs the same way?
Among the best basketball players in NBA history is Chris Paul. A real point guard, he faced up against players like Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, and Rajon Rondo when he first entered the league. Eventually, he established himself as a top player who would improve any team fortunate enough to have him on staff.
But don’t just take my word for it—the San Francisco Chronicle claims that there is proof of the CP3 effect:
This evidence demonstrates that the Chris Paul Effect does occur. In NBA history, Paul is the only player to have been a part of four teams that achieved franchise records for wins in a single season. He accomplished this while playing for the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Hornets, and, most recently, the Phoenix Suns.
And while though the Oklahoma City Thunder under his leadership didn’t break the team record for victories in a season, they did see a slight improvement in a season that saw the departure of Paul George and Russell Westbrook. Among a plethora of inexperienced and youthful players, Paul guided them to a postseason appearance. I conducted additional research to learn more about Paul’s influence on teams both during and after his tenure. See the influence he had on OKC:
Whoa! Let’s examine his effect on the Dubs now. Did you know that Paul played for the Warriors this season? They went 33-25. That represents a 56% victory percentage! That’s also Golden State’s season-long victory percentage, which was respectable enough for them to be ranked tenth. Due to injury, CP3 missed a significant portion of the season. If he had been available, the Dubs could have been much better.
Ironically, Golden State finished as the sixth seed last season with 44 wins, or a 53% win percentage. Thus, it is possible to argue that, in a theoretical sense, CP3 helped the Warriors this season (the CP3 impact endures!).
