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Paul: Hall Of Fame Trip “Something I’ll Never Forget”

CARSON, Calif. – Already No. 11 all-time in assists in NBA history just 11 seasons into his illustrious career, Chris Paul’s first trip to the Hall of Fame last weekend likely won’t be his last.

But it was an emotional experience nonetheless for the Clippers’ point guard, who was in attendance to receive the Mannie Jackson Award for his humanitarian and charitable efforts. That also gave him the chance to see one of his idols, Allen Iverson, get enshrined into the Hall of Fame as part of this year’s class.

“That trip to Springfield was something I’ll never forget,” Paul said this week while helping open a refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Carson. “Springfield was pretty memorable in that it hit me that I’ve been in the NBA now… this will be my 12th season, been playing basketball since I was 4, and I still didn’t know a lot of the history of the game. To go to the Hall of Fame and see the groundwork for why I get to live the way that I live, it was a pretty touching experience to me.”

It was so touching to Paul that while getting interviewed on the trip alongside the other Mannie Jackson Award winners, Jalen Rose and Tubby Smith, he began to choke up as he realized how much basketball did for him in leading him to that moment.

“My family knows I’m sort of the emotional one in our family,” Paul said in the video, which was part of the NBA’s livestream of the event. “Today was my first day having an opportunity to come here, and it was kind of touching, because if not for this game, I’m not here. If not for this game, my family’s not in the position we’re in, and so I’m so grateful for this game and what it’s done for me and my family.”

It was difficult for Paul to continue, but he managed to do so while giving a suggestion to his fellow players in the league.

“It really hit me today being here around all the history and that we take so much for granted; I know I do a lot of times, but to get an opportunity to come here – I remember pressuring my parents to buy me some Allen Iverson shoes – and to be here on a special day for him… man, this game has taken me places that I could never have imagined,” Paul said. “To all those other hoopers out there, guys, you’ve got to come see this, because it’s bigger than any of us.”