Before Chris Paul was negotiated with Los Angeles Clippers in 2011, he had a stereotyped view of the city.
“When I came as a visitor, we always stayed at Ritz-Carlton at Marina, and every player, all [we] I did it was to go to the rodeo to drive a day before the game or other ornaments, ”says Paul, who started his NBA career playing with the New Orleans Hornets in 2005.“ It was all I thought there was. I thought it was all very Hollywood, glitz and glamor, so I never wanted to come here to live. ”
At Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles give us a game of their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on weekends.
But since the veteran point guard and his family found a house with a pool – a non -negotiable for North Carolina native – and settled in their new environment, they grew up to love the city. So much so that his wife, Jada Crawley, and his children now teenagers continued to live in Los Angeles when he left to play for Houston Rockets in 2017.
When the news came last month that he would return to La Clippers – a dream he says “manifested” – Paul was buzzing with emotion.
“Over the years, La has become home,” says Paul, whose fans call him “CP3”. He was sitting in a conference room at Intuit Dome, the clippers arena during our zoom. “My family is here is good and well, but also my community. If you live somewhere and call home for a while, make friends who are like a family, for a long time I lost these relationships.”
Below is a game plan for Paul’s perfect Sunday in Los Angeles, involves going to a food brunch point for the church with his family, practicing his balance in a driving range and hosting a night of play. Here is the piece per piece.
This interview was slightly edited by length and clarity.
6:00: Beat the gym
I am a riser early. I’m awake at 6 am at the gym daily. I would do a gym training at home. This is not negligent. So I had a small breakfast later. I would probably have a little French toast. This is my favorite. I would also have some scrambled eggs, braised spinach and some fruits beside it.
8:30: Church with the family
Actually, I had the perfect Sunday [recently]. I dressed and went to church. It was me, my wife, my daughter, my son and two of his friends who spent the night, my brother and the family of his wife and my two cousins who brought their friends. There were 16 of us. We decided to go to the service of 8:30 am in Believe in La Pastor Lindsey is great. I love people there. Obviously, given my schedule, I can’t go every Sunday, but whenever I’ve been there so far, it’s like the message I needed to hear.
11:00: soul food brunch
After the church, the place we would go Harold and Belle’s. I know the family who owns the restaurant and is very moving. They make these fried mushrooms that I definitely have. It really looks at home.
14:00: Practice my balance in driving range
It’s funny because it will be one of both. My wife and daughter will definitely want to go to Century City or Topanga Shopping Center. They like to shop. So if they went to the mall, I would probably go to driving Range and hit some golf balls. I am a member of some courses, El Caballero Country Club and SherwotheD country club. I’ve been playing golf since 2009. It’s the coolest thing of all time. I grew up playing basketball with my brother and father, and now, obviously, we can’t throw together, so for years, that’s how we spent time. We left and played golf together. I had a chance to play with some friends here in Los Angeles, with whom I hadn’t played for years. [I appreciate] The camaraderie and the time you spend outside on the golf course.
19:00: Dinner at Nobu
After that, I probably have to relax at home a little and prepare for dinner. I probably go to Nobu in Malibu with my family. I always have my team with me. If I’m not in the nobu, I’m in BLVD steak. I like crispy rice and salmon avocado, which is like sashimi, but they do it with avocado. At Blvd Steak, they have this stingy salad which is amazing. Do you know my favorite food that I can’t say no at any moment? Chips. I am a French connoisseur of Fry. I like the edges to be a little crispy.
21:30: Invite everyone and play eleven
After dinner, everyone will return to my house and we will play this game called Eleven. Everyone receives 11 letters. There are six rounds and, for every two players, you need a deck. We play this game every night.
Since I entered the NBA, in every flight, we play this game called Booray [also known as Bourré]. It’s almost like swords. It’s like the NBA game. Eleven is amazing, because sometimes we will have 15 or 20 people in our house and only assemble different tables. Therefore, no matter what happens throughout the day, this will be Nightcap. We will have Good eat’n snacks. [Editor’s note: Good Eat’n is the plant-based snack company Paul launched in partnership with GoPuff after changing his diet to be primarily plant-based.] We have drinks. I am definitely drinking some glasses of red wine. We will have songs going. It is literally the best moment.
12:30: Close a little–eye
At the end of the night, I will see everyone. Embrace my children – I would say kiss my children, but I don’t know if my daughter will still kiss me – and then I’ll go to bed.
