NBPA president Chris Paul said „it’s definitely been a very emotional past couple of days, not only for myself but everyone,“ as players took time to „reset“ after the shooting of Jacob Blake and decide if the playoffs would resume.
An emotional Chris Paul said NBA players needed „to reset“ and „to refocus“ over the past few days after another police shooting of a Black man, but they have emerged united and ready to complete the NBA postseason. „It’s definitely been a very emotional past couple of days, not only for myself, but everyone,“ Paul said. „I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our players. It’s been a hard time. Everyone showed in a lot of the communication that we’ve been having is amazing. What everyone saw in the past couple days is guys just needing to reset, to refocus, and that’s what we did.“ Paul has been president of the NBA Players Association since 2013 and on the executive committee since 2009. A leading voice in the league, Paul played a vital part in the NBA resuming the season in the Orlando bubble after the COVID-19 shutdown in March. The NBA season faced another possible shutdown as players reconsidered their role in the social justice movement following Sunday’s police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, setting off a chain reaction around the NBA and the sports world at large. As NBA players decided on their next steps, meetings and side meetings followed, with reports of emotional and sometimes contentious conversations being part of them. The Los Angeles Lakers were one of two teams to informally vote to not resume the season, with LeBron James reportedly walking out of one of the meetings. „It was never about one person. It was never about one team. It was all about all of us together,“ Paul said. „When the events happened the other day of the game, we stood in solidarity with our brothers from Milwaukee. Everything that we do is about the brotherhood, about everyone as a whole. So it was never about what is this one team or what is this one player going to do.“ Paul said players needed some time to process and consider their place as advocates and voices of social justice reforms in the wake of Blake’s shooting. „The shootings that continue to happen, it creates a lot of unrest.
