Rowan Kavner
LAS VEGAS – Combine a competition among professional athletes and a good cause, and Chris Paul is all in.
Paul held the third annual TopSpin Celebrity Charity Ping Pong Tournament at Lagasse Stadium in The Palazzo in Las Vegas this weekend, with the proceeds going to The Chris Paul Family Foundation, TopSpin and Jump4Joy, all of which benefit children.
“It’s amazing,” Paul said. “It’s a lot of fun, and everything I do is geared toward kids. I’m just very thankful to be able to do an event like this. Palazzo’s been amazing, as well as all the celebrities and people who come out to give back, raise money and have a good time.”
Paul loves to compete, and when he can help kids in the process, it makes the competition even more worth it. He said the event isn’t about him or any of the celebrities, but giving back.
That said, he knows how professional athletes can get when they play each other in anything. Paul said other than the competitive nature of any sport or game, not much translates from basketball to ping pong, but that doesn’t stop the competitive juices from flowing.
“I’m going to tell you this, anybody who loses and acts like they don’t care, they’re lying,” Paul said.
Paul, who was seeking to win the event for the third straight year, said he has always enjoyed playing ping pong and wants to put a table in his house in North Carolina. However, he said he hadn’t played since the tournament the year before. Last year, he found out Willie Green was “sneaky good,” and he heard Eric Gordon had been practicing for the event this year.
But in the end, it wasn’t either of those two who crushed Paul’s hopes of taking home the title a third straight year. Rather, it was his own assistant coach, Sam Cassell, who took down Paul in the finals.
“I couldn’t let him beat me,” Cassell joked. “I’d hear it all season.”
Paul said the tournament provides a fun opportunity for the many people who are already in Las Vegas during Summer League to get a change of pace and have a good time. He said it also provides an opportunity to see people in a different light off the court while participating in a good cause.
Among the many current NBA players at the event were Gordon, Green, Paul Pierce, Nerlens Noel, Al-Farouq Aminu and CJ Watson. Former NBA players came out, including Cassell, Jerry Stackhouse and Steve Smith, as well as Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson. Even Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving made an appearance.
Woodson stayed a week in Las Vegas, as he held his golf tournament there earlier in the week.
“I don’t get an opportunity to mingle a lot in the summer time,” Woodson said. “My golf tournament has presented me to be able to do that the last couple of summers. This happened to fall right in line in terms of me being here and being able to support Chris.”
The players enjoyed themselves at the event, and while getting competitive, they realized what the night was really for.
“It’s a great event being put together for the kids,” Noel said. “Being out here and seeing them, putting a smile on their faces, it’s a great thing going on. Everything Chris has done for the league and kids all around the league, he’s done a lot and influenced a lot of people.”
TopSpin, which put on the event, seeks to provide necessary resources for underserved youth to succeed in school and beyond. The Chris Paul Foundation strives to impact the communities it serves by using its resources and passion for philanthropy to enhance and promote education, health, sports and social responsibility, while Jump4Joy’s mission is to fight childhood obesity by teaching kids how to lead a healthy lifestyle and understand the benefits of exercise and proper nutrition.