The NBA has witnessed a plethora of extraordinary point guards throughout its history. Each one of them has left a significant mark on the league. From Magic Johnson’s flashy no-look passing to Stephen Curry‘s three-pointer dominance, each era has shown what its players were capable of. Now, as one of the San Antonio Spurs standout’s playing days are coming to an end, NBA champ Dwyane Wade has lauded him.

Dwyane Wade, who is a good friend of Chris Paul both on and off the court, has always recognized the point guard’s exceptional abilities. However, to even further clarify his opinion to the public, he took to his Instagram to post a picture and write a message for his long-time NBA friend. “One of the greatest PGs to ever play the Game of Basketball is entering his 20th season‼️ What he continues to give the next wave of hoopers is what I’m most impressed with,” wrote Wade as the caption of the post. The picture showed Wade’s son Zaire taking lessons from the 39-year-old point guard, thus proving his claim of training new players true.

So the question arises: Is Chris Paul the best point guard in the league? He may not be the best, but he is one of the best point guards in the league. He has done a great job in analyzing defenses, breaking opponents’ offenses, motivating his teammates, scoring in the final moments, and keeping up with his elite performance throughout his career. The numbers even prove this. In his career so far, he has scored an average of 17.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 9.4 APG in the 1272 games that he has played. This has even earned him the moniker ‘The Point God’.

The reason why Wade is so fond of Paul’s abilities is because of their camaraderie. Surprisingly, both the NBA standouts had never played on the same team. Wade was drafted into the NBA by the Miami Heat in 2003, whereas Paul was drafted in 2005 by the New Orleans Hornets. They have been part of a high-profile player group that consisted of other players like LeBron James and Camelo Anthony and also along with they have been friends since they were teenagers. Wade’s wife, Gabrielle Union, even gave this group a name in 2015 ‘The Banana Boat Team’.

Zaire is on the verge of becoming a great player if he keeps on taking lessons from the point guard. As Paul’s playing days wind down with his long 20-year career, his impact on the NBA will continue to reverberate through the countless players he has mentored and inspired.

However, it’s not like Wade and CP3 could never be teammates. In fact, their paths almost aligned once.

The time when Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade almost made it on the same team

During the year 2011, there were rumors that Paul might end up with the Miami Heat. This move would have been revolutionary since the Heat already had great players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But the trade didn’t finalize because of a reason that no one would have thought of.

In one episode of the episodes of “The Why with Dwayne Wade” podcast, Wade revealed that the trade wasn’t finalized because if Paul joined the Heat he wouldn’t get the no. 3 jersey. “We talk about all this, okay, who’s going to have the ball, we done figured all that out, somebody said, who’s going to wear number three? That’s the whole reason because couldn’t wear number three in Miami. Messed the whole trade up,” said Wade during the podcast.

Both the players shared the same number on their jerseys and since Wade didn’t give up the number, Paul wasn’t ready to join the team. Fast forward to 9 years, Wade’s No. 3 jersey was retired by the Heat during a halftime ceremony. Although both the players may never have played together on the same team, their near miss serves as a reminder of the potential greatness that could have been.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.