Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul had a rare “jump with me” moment back during his sophomore season.
Paul and the New Orleans Hornets were playing the Orlando Magic in December 2006, and with just under 3:50 left in the third quarter, New Orleans was down 57-56. Paul went downhill, and as he drove through the lane, he rose and jammed all over 2008 dunk contest champ Dwight Howard.
Now, with Paul being a well-respected veteran, he had the opportunity recently to reminisce on one of his best slams. He talked with Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson on the Knuckleheads podcast about the moment, and he said it’s his favorite dunk besides one he had in a church league.
“That one I sort of surprised myself, to tell you the truth,” Paul said on the podcast. “Because I went, split it (the screen) right to the middle. And if you see it’s a weird dunk because I used to dunk one hand back then, but I was scared because I felt his body. So I actually dunked, and I tried to grab two hands.”
Standing at 6-foot-1, Paul dunking on Howard, who is listed at 6-foot-10, was an incredible feat. The level of elevation and explosion Paul needed to pull that off was very high.
Paul also surprised hoops fans, though, in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. During the second quarter, Paul jumped high for an alley-oop pass from Russell Westbrook. The play was one of the best from the midseason exhibition, and it’s one of the best dunks of Paul’s career.
As the Thunder prepare for the Orlando resumption, Paul will be an important part of OKC’s potential success.
This season he has scored 17.7 points per game, dished 6.8 assists a game and shot 48.9% from the field — that field goal percentage is the third-highest of his career.
