Even though he’s on his third Western Conference team in his NBA career, there is no doubt that former Hornets point guard Chris Paul will one day make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame. After two stellar years at Wake Forest University, Paul declared for the 2005 NBA Draft. He went No. 4 overall to New Orleans after the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Jazz passed over him. Australian big man Andrew Bogut went No. 1 in this draft to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Paul would make an immediate impact with the Hornets. As a rookie in 2005-06, Paul averaged 16.1 points, 7.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game in 36.0 minutes per contest. He started in all 78 games he played for the Hornets that season. He would rightfully be named NBA Rookie of the Year, obviously making the NBA All-Rookie First Team in the process.
In total Paul would play his first six NBA seasons with the Hornets. Beginning in year three, Paul would rattle off his first of nine straight All-Star selections, the first four coming with New Orleans. He made three All-NBA teams, three All-Defensive teams, led the league in steals three times and led the league in assists twice in Hornets uniform. Then, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers before the 2011-12 NBA season.
Paul played six outstanding seasons with the Clippers, but never got out of the second round in the Western Conference Playoffs while starring in Los Angeles. While he did reach the Western Conference Finals in 2018 as a member of the Houston Rockets, the Larry O’Brien Trophy still evades the talented point guard from Winston-Salem. In six years with the Hornets, Paul averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in 37.1 minutes per contest. The Hornets made the Western Conference Playoffs three times with Paul as their star player.