Chris Paul’s role may have changed with the Golden State Warriors, but his ways most certainly have not.
The new Warriors guard Paul drew the ire of many on social media this week for a supposedly dirty play that he committed during Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Paul was trying to corral a loose ball in the second half when he fell into the knees of Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, who was also going for the ball. Conley collapsed to the ground in a heap with Paul as a result.
Multiple viewers felt that Paul’s dive was completely unnecessary (with some even suggesting that Paul had supposedly looked down at Conley’s knees and sought out the contact on purpose).
You can be the judge based on the video of the incident below.
https://twitter.com/HoopMixOnly/status/1724090392885227697
Conley fortunately ended up being OK, but Paul did succeed in getting the officials to call Conley for a foul on the play. The Timberwolves would still end up beating the Warriors 116-110 though.
It is definitely a stretch to suggest that Paul is out there intentionally trying to hurt opponents. But it is not a stretch to suggest that Paul actively seeks out any possible advantage on the basketball court, including trying to draw fouls by any means necessary (no matter whose well-being is in his way). We have seen countless other examples of similarly controversial moments that Paul has had over the years. That may be a reason why one NBA rival once described Paul as the dirtiest player in basketball.
