Seeing Chris Paul in a jersey other than #3 – he’s CP3, after all – would have been weird.
Turns out that’s not happening in San Antonio. Keldon Johnson wore #3 during his five years with the franchise, but he posted a picture of himself on Instagram wearing a No. 0 Spurs uniform – he changed for this next season.
That means the number 3 uniform is open for Chris Paul.
It’s not known if Paul paid Johnson for the number or gave him some sort of gift, but that’s not uncommon around the NBA. Johnson previously said part of the reason he wore No. 3 was he looked up to Paul, who wore No. 3 at each of his stops during his 19-year, Hall of Fame NBA career.
Paul coming to San Antonio to help organize the Spurs offense, get Victor Wembanyama the ball into better positions, and mentor young players like Johnson and rookie guard Stephen Castle. It was one of the better pickups of the offseason. It’s possible the Spurs will trade CP3 at the February deadline, but that’s still plenty of time for Paul to work with Gregg Popovich and put his stamp on this team.
