Chris Paul Reveals Early Beef With Deandre Ayton: “Because I’m Hard On Him And I Ain’t No Loser"

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Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton led the Phoenix Suns to a magical playoff run last NBA season. The Suns Big 3 got to work to take the team to the promised land, which they were close to doing so. 

Even though they couldn't get past the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals, the Suns did a terrific job, surprising plenty of people around the league. Yes, many fans think they were lucky to reach the Finals due to injuries on their rivals' rosters. But still, this team looked stronger and ready to dominate. 

They came a long way to clinch the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. The job wasn't easy, and the communication between their stars wasn't always smooth. Chris Paul recently admitted that he had some issues with Deandre Ayton when he first landed in Phoenix. Given Paul's approach to the game and his desire to push everybody to the next level, he created some rift with the big man. 

"Willie Green, that’s my man off the court. If I’m gonna be by myself, I know him, that he’ll help keep my mental because that’s a whole other component to it, I was like, ‘Man, this could work," Paul said, via Dana Scott of azcentral. "And then the part that you have is building. Me and Deandre Ayton was getting into it like hell to start the season. Because I’m hard on him and I ain’t no loser ...

“My thing is you’ll find a way and that’s the hardest part for me because I always say this: Show me somebody that’s OK with losing and I’ll show you a loser. Like, for real, for real. I ain’t never gonna be cool with losing. Ever.”

Fortunately, things got a lot better between CP3 and Ayton. They formed a terrific Big 3 with Devin Booker, taking the Suns to the biggest series of all. Now they're getting ready to run it back next season. 

The Suns will have to prove themselves after a 2021/22 season that turned out to be great for them. Next year, teams will hopefully have fully healthy rosters. That will be a big test for the Arizonans if they want to emulate and improve what they did last season.