Aurelia Jackson - Chris Paul

Chris Paul

SUPERSTARS IN THE
WORLD OF BASKETBALL

LeBron James

Dwyane Wade

Kobe Bryant

Carmelo Anthony

Kevin Durant

Chris Paul

Dwight Howard

Rajon Rondo

Blake Griffin

Players & the Game Around the World

SUPERSTARS IN THE
WORLD OF BASKETBALL

Chris Paul

Aurelia Jackson

Mason Crest

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com

Copyright 2015 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

First printing
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3101-2
ISBN: 978-1-4222-3104-3
ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-8794-1

The Library of Congress has cataloged the
hardcopy format(s) as follows:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jackson, Aurelia.

Chris Paul / Aurelia Jackson.

pages cm. (Superstars in the world of basketball)

ISBN 978-1-4222-3104-3 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-4222-3101-2 (series) 1. Paul, Chris, 1985Juvenile literature. 2. Basketball playersUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile literature. I. Title.

GV884.P376J34 2015

796.323092dc23

[B]

2014005513

Contents

Words to Understand

commissioner: A person in charge of regulating a particular sport.

idols: People you admire and want to imitate.

varsity: A first-string sports team that represents a high school or college.

Chris Paul takes a deep breath and looks up to the stands. All eyes are on him. He is standing in the middle of a large Houston arena at the end of the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend. As an NBA All-Star, Chris is used to the attention.

NBA ALL-STAR MVP

The NBA All-Star Games take place once a year. The best players in the NBA are voted onto the NBA All-Star teams by their fans. The players are divided into the Eastern and Western division based on the team they play for in the NBA. Chris is on the NBA All-Star West team, because he plays for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Chris waits patiently for the NBA All-Star Games most valuable player (MVP) to be announced. This is the player who did the most to help his team win. This can be through scoring points, assisting others, stealing the ball from opponents, or blocking shots. Standing next to Chris is David Stern, the NBA . Behind him are members from the West team. The West beat the East by five points.

Chris holds the 2013 NBA All-Star Game trophy while he presents a check to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America from State Farm Insurance.

Make Connections

In a basketball game, ten people play on the court at a time. They are split up into two teams of five players. Teammates must work together to score baskets. They all have different roles to play. One teammate may pass the ball to another teammate before a shot is made. The passer will do this if his teammate has an open shot to score. If the person who catches the ball shoots and scores a point, the person who passed him the ball is awarded an assist. Players who perform assists are very important. They help set the shooter up for a perfect shot. Chris Paul is one of the best assisters in the NBA.

Chris was a big part of why the West won the game. The teams other starters were Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Dwight Howard. A starter is someone who plays at the beginning of a game. He usually plays during any other important moments, such as the very end when every point counts. He usually has the best personal record out of every person on the team.

Everything gets quiet as David Stern begins to speak. With 20 points, 15 assists, 4 steals, Chris Paul is the most valuable player of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. Commissioner Stern hands Chris a large trophy, while his fans cheer. He holds the glass trophy above his head and smiles. Even with the award in his hands, he still cant believe it. This is crazy, he says in an interview. You never expect something like this.

Chris has played in a total of six All-Star games as of 2013, but this was his first time being named the most valuable player. He only scored a total of 20 points in the game, but that isnt what makes him special. Chris is best known for his assists. His career average is almost 10 assists per game. The only two people to ever achieve a higher assist average are Magic Johnson and John Stockton. Both are now retired. This means that Chris holds the record for the highest assists per game of any active NBA player.

At the age of just twenty-eight, Chris had come very far in his career. He always dreamed of joining the NBA, but there were times when he wasnt sure if he would make it. He was always very small compared to his peers. He is only six feet tall. Though this may be tall compared to an average human, its not for professional basketball players! Chris is actually very short compared to other NBA players. NBA players tend to be tall. The extra height gives them an advantage over opponents. They can shoot over another players head or reach up to block an opponents shot.

Because Chris is shorter than most players, he has to work extra hard. Chris is a point guard. Point guards help their teammates score by bringing the ball down the court and passing it to someone who is in a perfect position to shoot and score. Sometimes, point guards take shots, too. Point guards need to be fast on their feet and able to think quickly. They are often team leaders, because they need to make decisions for their teammates. And Chris is considered one of the best in the NBA.

Chris has worked hard to become the successful player fans love today. As a young person, Chris practiced hard to be the best player he could, making sure he had the best chance to make it to the NBA.

Make Connections

One of the biggest challenges Chris Paul dealt with as a child was his height. This is something he could not control, no matter how hard he tried. He feared he would not make it as a basketball player, because he wouldnt be able to reach over other players. In time, he learned he just had to be himself and keep trying. It would pay off one day. Chris writes about this experience in his childrens book, Long Shot: Never Too Small to Dream Big. Papa Chili is one of the main characters in the book.

Chris first discovered basketball as a child. He decided then and there that he was going to join the NBA one day. Chris knew it wouldnt be easy. Becoming a professional athlete is a lot of hard work. Chris began training early with the help of his father, who happened to be a coach and former athlete. He practiced for hours every day to make himself a better player. Chris was just twenty years old when he joined the NBA draft in