Having made over $300 million, the superstar athlete is approaching two decades in the NBA and, moving forward, Paul aspires to own a WNBA franchise, and at least 61 shares of energy company Chevron. Paul joined Forbes senior writer Jabari Young at the Nasdaq MarketSite to dive inside his portfolio.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 He's a 12-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist.
00:04 He's one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
00:07 You know him as CP3, maybe even a point guard.
00:10 Diving into portfolio and talking business with NBA superstar Chris Paul right now at the Nasdaq.
00:15 Hello everyone, this is Jabari Young, senior writer at Forbes,
00:20 and I am here at the Nasdaq market site joined by the legend, NBA superstar, Golden State Warriors guard for now.
00:28 Chris Paul, Chris, thank you so much, man. How are you? Welcome to the Nasdaq.
00:31 I'm well, thank you so much for having me.
00:33 Yeah, yeah. First of all, man, happy belated birthday.
00:35 Right. I know May 6th, man, and so you're age 39 now.
00:39 What have you learned at age 38 that you want to take with you at age 39?
00:42 I always ask you, what's the biggest thing you learned in your former chapter?
00:45 Oh, man, over the years and even more so, 38 to 39 is how much you got to cherish the moment.
00:51 You know, when you're in it, you're just like, oh, this is going to happen again.
00:55 You know, now having kids, too, is is more so about enjoying the time because you only have so much time at home with them.
01:02 Yeah, absolutely. Ben, listen, well, we're at the Nasdaq, right?
01:05 It's a stock market. So I'll ask you, give people a good stock, right?
01:09 One and not something that's common, Chris. I'm not the Microsoft's in the Apple.
01:12 Those are easy. Something that's low key under the radar.
01:15 Maybe you own or want to own because you see that it's a good stock.
01:18 I can't think of that one. You know what I mean? Honestly, like you said, Apple and those things like that.
01:22 I know it's simple, but you just I mean, my game is sort of like that, too.
01:26 You know what I mean? You just know it's going to sort of even out.
01:28 Yeah, I thought you would say Chevron only because of your grandfather.
01:32 Man, I see if you have stock in Chevron or you own any of that Chevron stock.
01:35 I'm not, but I should. Yeah, absolutely.
01:37 No, honestly, you know, it's funny because every shoe that I ever came out with had a Chevron logo.
01:44 I actually got it. It's had it here in memory of my late grandfather.
01:48 I worked at a Chevron. So I know. Yeah.
01:50 Yeah, that's the first thing I'm going to do when we get up from right. Absolutely.
01:53 Absolutely. With some selling air right. New Walkerton Road, New Walkerton Road.
01:57 Jones Chevron. Absolutely. Nathan Jones. Nathaniel Jones.
02:01 Absolutely. So, man, some jumping in business. But before we do that, man, you just completed your 19th season in the NBA.
02:06 First of all, congrats on that, man.
02:08 Having been a former NBA writer myself, man, covering the Spurs, I've seen vets come and go.
02:12 Some of them don't last even five years, but you've lasted 19.
02:16 And just to make sure that you're updating, you're saying there's going to be a 20th season.
02:19 Absolutely. OK, great. But we don't know where it's going to be. Right, right, right.
02:23 OK. OK. I mean, listen, one of the most unique situations you've been in in the free agency period or in this time.
02:29 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Especially, you know, the last five seasons I've played without living with my family.
02:37 You know, because my kids had moved, you know, team to team, all this stuff.
02:40 So, you know, you play long enough, different situations arise.
02:45 I'm still grateful that I get an opportunity to play. But it is tough when you don't know where you're going to be.
02:52 Yeah. Yeah. It's you guys usually when you're in your prime and you've got you can choose where you want to go.
02:57 And now the team is a 30 million option that they have in your hand. Right.
03:00 Are you calling them like, yo, man, that's a lot of money, Chris, 30 million.
03:03 I don't want to know what I'm getting. Yeah, I would like to know, too.
03:06 But it don't work like that. I think for me, it's just about doing the work.
03:10 Yeah. You know, I've been in some of the best situations I could possibly ask for.
03:15 But, man, I get to play basketball every day and say that's my way of life.
03:20 You sound like Greg Popov is there, man. You know, when you just play basketball, it's not about anything else.
03:24 You guys play basketball. I mean, it's intense, though. Yeah.
03:26 I mean, I'm I'm I'm still deep in it. You know, like I love it.
03:30 I got I care, you know, it affects my mood, you know, winning and losing.
03:36 So I know I'm still in it. Yeah. When what does it take to play 19 years?
03:40 I asked Andre Miller, man, one of the best point guards I've ever covered.
03:43 He was with San Antonio his last days. He was at his locker.
03:46 I pulled him aside and say, man, how do you get to this point?
03:48 Dre finished in San Antonio. Finished in San Antonio, man, as a vet.
03:51 And so he said, you know, I never pick up a ball in the summertime. I don't touch it.
03:55 I remember when he was in Philadelphia, they tried to get Lou Williams.
03:57 They wanted him to train Lou. He was like, I don't do it.
03:59 I don't want nothing to do with basketball. And that's how you keep your body fresh.
04:03 How do you spend 19 years? How do you get to that point?
04:05 You know, I think everybody has their own story. And that's not my story.
04:09 I'm always around basketball. You know, I train, I lift, I work out.
04:15 Even if I'm not on the court shooting, I'm constantly lifting weights.
04:18 I'm constantly in the weight room. My son and my daughter, who now they're 14 and 11.
04:23 I have a grassroots basketball program. And so I got 14 of my kids now who play in the NBA.
04:29 So I'm going to have a basketball in my hands.
04:33 So I think the biggest thing is you got to have an unbelievable support system.
04:37 And then you just got to have a will. Right. You just got to have a will because you got to get up, you know,
04:42 when you're on vacation or whatnot or it's your birthday or whatnot.
04:46 You still got to get up and you got to keep putting the work in because there's a draft every year.
04:51 And there's 19 and 20 year old guys coming to take your job. But you got to do the work.
04:55 Absolutely. I was talking to our mutual friend of ours, man, Darnell Mayberry.
04:59 I got Chris coming in as that. What would you ask him? How would you define his career in him?
05:03 He said you brought a legend and legendary. You agree with those terms?
05:07 Man, I appreciate it. Darnell came in the league with me, you know, in Oklahoma.
05:12 And, you know, sometimes when you're younger, you don't appreciate all the different things that's going on around you.
05:19 You know, the people when you walk into arenas, but you start to see these consistent faces.
05:24 Who are working just as hard, if not harder, harder than you are.
05:28 And Darnell is somebody like that, that I appreciate. You know, there would be times when he could probably tell you when he was younger,
05:35 writing, he would write stuff and he'd come in the locker room. Some of my teammates would be ready to knock his head off.
05:40 I know, man. I was in the middle of the quad in San Antonio. I remember all about that, man.
05:44 But as you said, you know, those familiar faces. We're on the road with y'all as much as y'all are.
05:49 Right. You know, I think we should get a ring. No, seriously, because there's a certain way that we're traveling, obviously.
05:55 And you guys are showing up for these games or whatnot. And I think as guys careers go longer and longer, they start to appreciate.
06:02 Now, it's going to be times where you ain't fooling with this person or whatnot.
06:05 But at a certain point, you appreciate people. Absolutely.
06:09 Let's dive back into your past a little bit. And again, you grew up in Winston-Salem area, North Carolina.
06:14 I watched your Milken interview, Institute interview the other day, man. Watched about three times. Very powerful stuff, man.
06:20 Love the fact that you're so involved with HBCU. Shout out to Chaney and Lincoln, Pennsylvania area, man.
06:26 HBCU is definitely near and dear to my heart. Friends of mine left there.
06:29 The Chris Paul Family Foundation, all the work that you're doing there. Love those interviews you did with Milken.
06:34 But I flash back to that gas station at Chevron, man, because, you know, I was involved with cars as well.
06:39 I used to work at Toyota and I was rotating tires, cleaning oil. It is a hustle.
06:44 Right. But it teaches you the value of hard work. And I noticed that that's what it was, man.
06:48 When you grew up, did you want to be an auto mechanic? Because when you were running back and forth, filling up the tell me it leads you to.
06:54 I did not. I did not. But it teaches you a lot about things.
06:59 Right. So like when these families have a restaurant, right. When a family owns a restaurant, whether you like the restaurant business, you're going to go work there.
07:07 Right. Because this is your family's business. Right. This is your family's name on the line.
07:11 So if your pops or something owns a hair barbershop, you know, you might be in there sweeping up hair or whatnot, even though that might not be what you love to do.
07:20 But it teaches you about hard work, teaches you about sacrifice. And that's how I was with my grandfather service station.
07:25 That's all I knew, you know, getting up, going over to the service station, putting a red rag in my back pocket, doing the work.
07:32 And so it was a hard decision with my family when my grandfather was murdered, because now he that was his passion.
07:41 Whether it was passion or not, that's what he did. So now we had to decide, do we want to buy more gas?
07:46 Are we going to keep the gas station running? And eventually we didn't.
07:50 But I loved it during that time, especially to be able to be with him.
07:54 You ever think about maybe going and opening up another gas station area, maybe letting your son or somebody in your family kind of run it to keep it?
08:00 I mean, listen, not everybody's gas. We still need gas. They do. But man, that's that's that's that's tough work.
08:07 That's tough work. And like I said, that was a time in my life when we did that.
08:12 And it's crazy because you want to have your kids do some of these similar things. Right.
08:16 Like to learn about your hard work. Exactly. I want him outside cutting the grass.
08:20 You know, I want him pushing, you know, not riding lawnmowers. So it's always tough when you're a parent.
08:26 Yeah. And then you go to Wake Forest, man, spend two years there. Obviously, we know what happens in between.
08:30 But congratulations again, man, because you graduate from Winston-Salem University. Right.
08:34 And December of last year, man. And to finish that process, always tell young kids it's not about the grades.
08:40 People want to see you started something and finish. It shows dedication. Right.
08:45 It shows that you're involved. What's the biggest thing that you learned in your college education?
08:49 Right. Wake Forest and Winston-Salem that you use in business today.
08:53 Man. One of the biggest things is follow through. Right. Follow through.
08:58 Like you said, I went to Wake Forest not knowing I was going to the NBA. Right.
09:02 I went to go get a good education, went for two years, go to the NBA.
09:06 And everyone's like, oh, you make this money. You don't need no degree. It's not about that.
09:10 It's about exactly what you said. It's about finishing what you start. Yeah.
09:13 And so I'm a big believer in that. Right. So when it comes to training.
09:17 So everything in my life, pretty much I found a way to translate it to basketball. Right.
09:22 So if you're training and you're in the weight room and the trainer tells you you've got to do 10 pushups.
09:27 Right. And the trainer walks over there and you just do seven. Right.
09:31 You ain't cheat nobody with yourself. Right. So it's about finishing, completing.
09:35 And when I got a chance to do that at Winston-Salem State and walk across the stage to see that smile on my parents face.
09:42 Priceless. Absolutely. Well, let's dive into your portfolio. Right. You got about 20 plus companies you're involved in.
09:47 Partnership level as well as equity. State Farm, one of the most notable, man.
09:51 I mean, what has you in State Farm so tight? I mean, you got the clip Paul commercials made.
09:56 You're walking fast. What is that relationship? How do you define it in one word?
10:00 Because it's lasted so long. Probably legendary. Legendary. You know, and grateful.
10:06 I tell you, I remember the very first call that I got about doing that State Farm partnership.
10:13 I was on the four or five headed home. And I remember hearing I was like, what?
10:17 I will be somebody else, too. All right. Let's see what this look like. Right.
10:21 And I remember our first our first shoot. It came out the next day.
10:26 It was pictures from doing that shoot. Everybody was like, Chris Paul is filming a movie.
10:31 No, no, I'm not. And to see how the partnership has grown and it's something that will just continue to live on.
10:40 Right. And I got a chance to incorporate so many people from my family, my friends and all that over the course of this partnership.
10:47 And it's been it's been a lot of fun. Legendary. Right. And it's still going to be more commercials. Right. Yeah.
10:52 Yeah. Yeah. Good. I want to say we got we need Chris Pauling State Farm. You need Chris Paul in those commercials, man.
10:57 And so diving deeper, you got the FinTech Goldsetter, you know, had the sister Tanya up here.
11:02 And it's a phenomenal, wonderful sister. Slutty vegan love with pinky coals, Dawn, as well as Watchbox.
11:08 Right. Michael Jordan and Giannis, I believe, are investors in his company Watchbox.
11:12 And that's a luxury. I covered that company. 2001, I believe, Uncharted Power. Right.
11:16 Jeff Matthews, a great individual of the sisters doing I mean, she was teaching me about the soccer balls that they want to put Jessica.
11:22 Man, I mean, phenomenal. And now and then we got Mr. Guidry over at Players TV, man.
11:27 I was just telling your rep, Carmen Wilson, she's great. And since the stack brother is persistent.
11:32 I mean, what do you look for when you got an investor? Right. Like a guy like that wants you to be in part of his company.
11:39 What do you look for? And and do you like those type of persistent CEOs? Well, you have to be.
11:44 So you have to be starting Players TV the way that we did.
11:49 It was about players having ownership. I remember the first breakfast that we had and talking about Players TV and Daron.
11:57 You have to be especially when you're black. Yeah. You know, you're trying to get this capital and trying to get people involved.
12:05 And players for so long have just been the talent. Right. And never really on the ownership side.
12:12 So I've had an opportunity to be a part of this evolution of the athlete. Right.
12:17 So I remember when I came into the league and I was on the executive committee and I was sitting at this table with all the different owners of the teams.
12:26 And this was my third year in the league. And I was just like, oh, man, they just talking about all this stuff I have no clue about.
12:32 Fast forward a few years later, I become the president and I start to sit here and I'm in these rooms and I'm learning and I'm learning.
12:39 And you start to understand how important ownership is. And so as players, as we started to become more informed, we said, hey,
12:46 let's start something called Players TV where we get an opportunity to have distribution, get other players involved and see how this grows.
12:53 Yeah, I was a little screen. I have sling and that's the streaming service I use. I'm rolling down.
12:57 I'm like, let's play this TV. Yeah. And I started watching the UBS Financial Show. Right.
13:02 I mean, it's some really interesting content on there. My question is, can you guys stay committed?
13:07 Because, Chris, you guys are busy, right? Ready to prepare for 20 of season.
13:10 Can you stay committed to deliver the content to keep it fresh? Absolutely.
13:13 And I think that's what makes it so dope is that it's not just about one athlete.
13:19 You know, there's so many athletes out here. There are current players, there are retired players.
13:23 There's all these different people who are in the space. Right.
13:25 Chanae just started a show. Right. She's been amazing on ESPN, but she has her own show now on Players TV.
13:31 And that's what's amazing about content now is that you can do it from wherever you are.
13:35 So I know players in order to be professionals in anything you do, you have to be committed.
13:41 Yes. So I'm sure we'll be committed to that. Have you talked to Bob Iger about what it takes to run a streaming network?
13:46 I mean, he would have experience with his being as the CEO of Disney. Right.
13:50 Have you talked about how to do this and how to make it effective?
13:52 Man, I talked to him about everything. You know, seriously, talk to him about everything.
13:56 And so he's been nothing but helpful to me in every aspect of my life, my career or whatnot.
14:04 But he has a pretty busy job on his hands, too. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
14:09 What are you looking at in 2024, man? I mean, what is your tech?
14:12 I mean, you know, AI companies obviously big, right? Genitive AI is a buzzword.
14:16 But what are you looking at to add or keep learning about things that's going on,
14:22 trends and trying to build things that I'm already involved in and continue to try to be the best player that I can be?
14:29 Also involved in TST that we have coming up, which has been amazing.
14:34 So you remember the TBT basketball tournament? Yeah.
14:37 And then we have a thing called the TST, which is coming up with Pat McAfee, Ocho Cinco played last year.
14:43 So continue to build up these experiences where fans get an opportunity to be there.
14:48 Our TST tournament this year is going to be so dope because we have a men's tournament and a women's tournament.
14:53 So the winner of the men's tournament gets a million dollars.
14:56 The winner of the women's tournament gets a million dollars. Equality. Equality.
15:00 Speaking of that, man, you know, two things before I move on to close it out there.
15:04 But the BIMS program, I noticed that RC Buford, the Spurs CEO, first told me about that.
15:09 And I'm like, oh, this is great. And I look at it's a twelve thousand dollar fee, though, man.
15:14 That's an expensive program. So I figure I can cheat and ask you, right.
15:18 Some of the tips that you've learned in that program that you use in business.
15:21 That's a great sports and entertainment program at Harvard.
15:24 It is. Anita is amazing. Yeah.
15:27 You know, you realize that sometimes there can be the same class, but a different teacher and is presented totally different.
15:35 And I got a chance to go be a student at Harvard, stayed in a dorm room and went to class.
15:41 And what's so dope about is that it's interactive.
15:43 So even though I may have thoughts on this particular subject,
15:48 there are other people that are from around the world that are giving their thoughts and their insight.
15:52 And what was so cool about it was I reached out to Anita after afterwards because I said, man, this is cool.
15:59 This is offered at Harvard. But is this class not offered at HBCU?
16:03 Yeah. So I worked with Anita and she was amazing.
16:06 And now we have that class at North Carolina A&T. Yeah.
16:10 Well, hopefully you can expand it, man. I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of kids,
16:13 a lot of young people in college that will love to get in sports.
16:15 We talk to them all the time in sports and entertainment.
16:17 I'm sure that class like that emulated at HBCU will be able to help.
16:20 For sure. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, man, again, what's the best pitch you've ever received?
16:26 Right. And what happened next? The best pitch.
16:31 Oh, man, I feel like I heard so many. That's the best one got to be at the top.
16:35 You know, I don't know if it's the best pitch.
16:37 I would say the best advice that I've gotten through out my career.
16:42 Right. Because everywhere you go, someone has something for you to be a part of or to invest in.
16:49 The best advice I got is understanding who the operator is.
16:53 Right. Understanding who's operating. It could be the best idea, but who's operating it.
16:59 And anytime I go into anything now because something could sound amazing.
17:04 Right. It could be like, oh, this is the newest, latest or whatnot.
17:07 But I literally I sit there now. OK, I hear you.
17:11 Yeah, I hear you because you've heard that before.
17:14 And I think a lot of times people think when you invest that it's going to be paid off in like six months.
17:21 Right. People don't understand the patience that you have to have and you have to ask questions and really be involved.
17:26 Yeah. When you talk about that, you're talking years.
17:29 You might have to be involved with a company before you see the pay off. Yes.
17:32 What's Chris Paul's limit? Is it 10 years? Is it 11 or is it?
17:35 I think it depends on what it is. It depends on what it is.
17:38 But the biggest thing that I learned from day one is that you're not necessarily investing in an idea.
17:44 You're investing in the people. Yeah. The person. You've got to actually want to be involved with these people as far as business.
17:52 But that's that's the thing. It could be the greatest idea or whatnot.
17:56 But if this person is out there partying or whatnot and going crazy, spending what you just invested, then you're going to be mad for a long time.
18:03 That's when you call the next day and cash out. You better do something.
18:07 Hey, man, let's look at here some macroeconomic stuff to get you out of here, because Chris, you're a CEO, man, your co-founder.
18:12 You're very busy. Right. And I definitely will value your time. Thank you again for joining us.
18:16 When you look at the WNBA, what do you see? Oh, man, I see a bright future, a bright future.
18:24 And for me, I'm a fan. Right. I'm a fan, first and foremost.
18:28 Every year since I've been in the NBA, I've been to a WNBA game. Right.
18:32 During the summer I go and so I'm excited because doing the union work, I've been involved with their union and just talking about how can we grow that game?
18:42 How can we do this? How we can do that? And they have just done it organically.
18:45 People are finally starting to see just how how amazing their game is.
18:54 They have so many talented women. They play the game so smooth.
18:58 Yeah. Right. Like everything is is is really exciting and effortless. And I just think it's going to continue to grow.
19:04 I want to be a part of. Absolutely. We talk and team owner. Absolutely.
19:07 That's where you go. Owner of the WNBA team. I would like that. I would love to own a WNBA.
19:11 There you go, man. Put it out there. And he got one coming to go to the NBA team and NBA.
19:16 Let me ask you, which NBA team, which NBA team? Charlotte.
19:21 Charlotte is home. Charlotte is definitely home. But I'm open.
19:26 You know, I mean, especially if there's expansion or something like that. So I'm definitely open.
19:30 But I I've been involved with the league for too long. Right.
19:34 From every aspect of it. And just knowing the game, understanding the GM's, the player relations, all of the different entities.
19:44 And that's that's definitely one of my goal. I want to own a team.
19:47 Absolutely. Dawn Staley, man. I look at that. She's from Philly as well. Love Dawn.
19:52 Is the NBA ready for her? And I'll ask you this question, Chris, because you were one of the first people along with the Players Association to put Michelle Roberts in that situation.
19:59 It was the first woman to do that at that point. Right. And so there's that leadership thing. Therefore, it's be OK.
20:03 We celebrate leadership. Is the NBA ready for Dawn Staley?
20:07 Man, I think any and everybody ready for Dawn Staley and whatever she wants to do.
20:13 Right. Her personality just I mean, you ought to see the way NBA players talk about her.
20:18 You know, obviously the game is one thing or whatnot, but her connectivity, the way to get players to buy in, that's a talent in itself.
20:27 The X's and O's, all of that different type stuff. Sometimes you can have assistant coaches that help with that.
20:32 But she she just seems like a coach that you want to play for.
20:36 If you hear players talk about her, you see the way they celebrate her.
20:40 You see her realness, her down to earth. So I don't think there's a thing that Dawn Staley can't do.
20:45 True. Yeah. Any advice for the girl dads, man? I got an 11 year 10 year old myself.
20:49 I know you have an 11 year old. What advice do you have for the girl dads out there?
20:53 Man, my advice is to pray. That's what I try to do.
20:59 Man, it's a beautiful thing. I got a boy and a girl. My daughter is just different.
21:04 The way they look at you, the way they take care of you. So, yeah, just always be there.
21:09 Yeah. My uncle always told me that's the first man that she's going to love in her life is you. So you got to set the example.
21:13 That's really absolutely man. Listen, moving ahead, the U.S. presidential race, man.
21:17 What do you want to see here from the candidates? You're a part of the social change just to be fun.
21:21 Right. That's dedicated to narrowing racial opportunity gap.
21:24 Yeah. And also co-chair Michelle Obama's when we all vote platform.
21:28 So I ask you again, U.S. presidential race without choosing sides. Yeah.
21:31 I want to see and hear from the candidates. I think my involvement with when we all vote and even our social change foundation is just it's about equality and making sure that everyone's voice is being heard.
21:42 Right. Well, when we all vote, that's what it's all about, is making sure that there's not voter suppression and all this different type stuff.
21:48 And so people are going to be able to choose what they would like to do.
21:52 But I think our biggest thing is making sure that there is equity and there's an opportunity for everyone's voice to be heard.
21:58 Absolutely. We know how you made your first million dollars. I believe so. Right. Playing basketball.
22:03 I believe. Absolutely. How did you spend your first million? Is anything you would do different?
22:08 Who, man, I mean, you got to think about it. I sort of told this story before, but I had one hundred fifty one dollars in my bank account when I declared for the NBA draft.
22:18 One hundred fifty one dollars in my bank account. And I declared for the draft.
22:23 My financial advisor who we hired, they said they would send me one hundred thousand dollars.
22:28 And my parents said, no, that's too much. So they sent me twenty five thousand.
22:32 So I drove down to Haynes Mall with my girlfriend, who is my wife now.
22:38 And we went to the mall and we went in this store called Style Setters.
22:42 And I said, buy whatever you want, get whatever you want.
22:46 And after that, went to TGI Fridays with one of my homies and his girl.
22:51 And it's funny, we used to get separate checks. You know what I mean?
22:56 That day it was one check. Yeah, it's been one check ever since.
22:59 The first thing I did was I bought a 750 BMW.
23:05 That was the nicest car in the world to me because my dad had a BMW.
23:10 Right. My dad had like a three series. So I was like.
23:14 I at the time didn't know nothing about Mercedes. I know nothing about maybe I know none of that stuff.
23:19 So I just said a BMW is the nicest car to me. So just give me the nicest one I can get.
23:24 Yeah. And Philly used to say that's the black man's wish. BMW.
23:29 Oh, black. Absolutely. Man, taking me back. Nostalgia, man.
23:34 Get you out of here on good to great, man. And you being the point guard, I ask you, right.
23:38 Jim Collins wrote his book Good to Great. Love that book. One of the best books I've ever read in the business scene.
23:43 What's the difference between a good point guard and a great. Oh, man.
23:49 I have to say the ability to make other people around them better. Right.
23:54 I've always took a lot of pride in that, in that, you know, I've went to certain teams before and guys that was on that team before.
24:00 I'd be like, man, you go ahead. I do. He can't hope he can't play. I was like, all right, you can play with you.
24:05 You know what I mean? Like, watch what I do. And so I think that's a skill, right.
24:11 Is being able to make people better than they may have been before.
24:15 But good to great was funny. You said that was I saying when I played for the Phoenix Suns, Monty Williams all the time.
24:23 You know, we always talk about passing up a good shot to get a great shot. And you know, he learned that from where Greg Popovich.
24:29 Oh, pop. Oh, yeah. Great. Everything. Everything.
24:33 Everything goes in his own right. That's what I'm glad. And when I first got a call from Philly, I'm like, this first.
24:38 But you learn so much. Five. Absolutely. Five. I mean, listen, but that's good. The great good.
24:43 The great. They told me about that book. Good. The great. I read it. And I'm telling you, the best business book I've ever read in my life, man.
24:48 But I do have to get you out on a bonus, because last night I was having a serious conversation and I think you might put it into it.
24:54 And Edwards, the debate is that he's Michael Jordan. I'm on the phone last night with a respected writer, J.A. Dondae.
25:00 Mike Wilbon, friend, Mike Wilbon, what's your book, man? And we say, you know what, man, I need to put the end to the MJ stuff.
25:07 Right. Because in order for you to be like, Mike, don't you got to go through Kobe? Right.
25:11 So is Ant Edwards the next Kobe Bryant? Is that fair? Yeah. I don't know.
25:15 I think Ant Edwards is Ant Edwards, you know, and I say this and it's funny because you said that, like my dad is how I got into basketball, how me and my brother got in the hoop.
25:25 And so it's funny to watch my dad because he's such a big fan of the game, always been.
25:29 And so when Ant is playing, my dad, like Ant, Ant will go score or something like that.
25:34 My dad would be like, they're going to Ant Jordan, they're going to Ant Jordan. And so like to see my dad, you know, still being like a little kid because he's the one who introduced me and my brother to basketball.
25:45 So Ant is special. You know, I think by the time he's done playing, ain't nobody going to be trying to compare him to Kobe or MJ.
25:53 It's going to be people trying to compare people to Ant and Edwards. Absolutely. Because the great ones separate themselves. Absolutely.
25:59 Yeah. So Mike always says, hey, man, thank you so much for the time, Chris. Come back any time to talk business at the Nasdaq.
26:04 I'd love to have you because you're involved in a lot of stuff. Yeah. Coming and going. I'll be forgetting sometime.
26:09 Yeah. I'm saying, man, we'd love to continue to dive in your portfolio. And listen, good luck this summer, man.
26:13 And I made the best of you in the year 20. Thank you. I appreciate Chris Paul at the Nasdaq market site of Jabari and Forbes.
26:19 See you next time.
26:20 I'm Mike Pearson. Have a great week.
26:23 Transcribed by https://otter.ai
26:25 Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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