SUNS FUN FACTS
They said he was done.
Chris Paul thought otherwise.
The Republic continues its “Fun Facts” series with the Phoenix Suns with
Paul, the 12-time All-Star who explained why he has been writing “Can’t Give Up Now” on his sneakers before every game.
Name: Chris Paul
Position: PG
Age: 36
NBA season: 17th
Twitter: @CP3
Instagram: @cp3
Fun fact: "Can't Give Up Now."
Q: When did you start writing ‘Can’t Give Up Now” on your shoes?
CP: I started writing it on my shoes after I got traded from Houston to
OKC (Oklahoma City in 2019).”
Q: Can you elaborate on that please? CP: “That next morning, after I got traded, I went to go work out with one of my AAU kids, Collin Sexton.”
Sexton now plays for the Cavaliers.
CP: “One of the first songs I heard in the car was ‘Can’t Give Up Now,” by Mary Mary. If you listen to the lyrics of that song, it just meant a lot to me when I heard that song. So that’s why I write it on my shoes.”
Mary Mary is a Grammy award-winning contemporary gospel duo composed of sisters Erica Campbell and Trecina Atkins-Campbell.
The chorus to the song from "Thankful," a 2000 release, goes as follows:
I just can't give up now.
I've come too far from where I started from.
Nobody told me.
The road would be easy.
And I don't believe He's brought me this far.
To leave me.
Critics felt Paul was on the downside of his career after that trade, but he led OKC to the playoffs and returned to All-Star status that 2019-20 season. Traded the following season to Phoenix, Paul led the Suns to the NBA Finals in his first year there.
The Suns finished this season with the league’s best record. Now Paul enters the 2022 postseason with perhaps his best chance to win an NBA championship.