NBA mismatch: Point God's last dance in pursuit of justice

A nickname has always been a perfect way to describe someone. After all, our names are given to us right after birth, while nicknames come later in life when people get to know us.

Nicknames in sports are somewhat common, and the NBA league is the ultimate leader in giving them to players. Truth be told, nowadays they are not that innovative, as they usually rely on players' initials or some form of last name. For instance, Kevin Durant - KD or Durantula, Anthony Davis - AD, Anthony Edwards - Ant, Nikola Jokic - The Joker, etc.

Of course, some, such as King James (LeBron James) or Greek Freak (Giannis Antetokounmpo) are a tad bit more creative, but the impression is that NBA nicknames were way better during the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century.

NBA mismatch: He earns tens of millions and owes money to barber and dentist?!

Kobe Bryant was Black Mamba, Allen Iverson was known as The Answer, Paul Pierce was nicknamed The Truth...

However, one particular player has been given a nickname that carries a '90s charm, although he is still in the league - Chris Paul, aka Point God.

One of the best point guards the league has ever had and one of the greatest NBA players who haven't won the title announced he'd retire at the end of the upcoming season.

"At the most, a year. I just finished my 20th season, which is a blessing in itself. I've been in the NBA for more than half of my life, which is a blessing. But these years, you do not get back, with your kids, with your family," he said recently via Yahoo Sports.

For 20 seasons, he's been one of the best passers and the king of mid-range jumpers, but his fingers remained ringless. He's been an All-Star 12 times, made it to All-NBA and All-Defensive teams multiple times, and been an NBA assists leader five times and steals leader six times. Still, team success never materialized.

He tried to reach the glory with the New Orleans Hornets (who drafted him in 2005), Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs, but everything was in vain.

He played alongside some incredible players, such as Blake Griffin, James Harden, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, etc. It didn't help.

Paul once reached the NBA Finals - in 2021 with the Suns and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks - and four times played in Conference Finals. Way too little for such a player.

Luck wasn't on his side, either. In 2018, alongside Harden, he led the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals against the mighty Warriors with Curry, Thompson, and Durant. The Texas crew was 3-2 up in the series and then Paul got injured and missed the decisive two games. Houston lost 4-3 and Golden State later swept LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers and clinched the title.

The moment Paul suffered an injury against Golden State on May 24, 2018 (©Bob Levey/Getty Images)

In 2011, Paul was supposed to be traded from New Orleans to the Los Angeles Lakers and united with Kobe Bryant, but the league - which was in control of the Hornets, as the team was in between owners - vetoed that deal.

The "basketball reasons" were the official explanation, though it was clear that the league didn't want to allow the creation of another superteam after the Miami Heat's dominance during LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh's era.

In the end, Paul joined the other LA crew, forming so-called "lob city" alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan but attractive basketball didn't bring him what he craved the most.

Now, he is a free agent, and the rumours claim he'll join Giannis Antetokounmpo at the Bucks. If that happens, the Wisconsin franchise will get a number of new fans just because of Paul.

Because who wouldn't like to see Point God's last dance crowned with a title?

If anyone deserved it, he did.