SAN ANTONIO – Believe it or not, there was a notable scuffle between Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul back in 2014 when Paul was playing for the Los Angeles Clippers and Barnes was with the Golden State Warriors. The incident occurred during a game on January 19, 2014, and it resulted in both players being ejected. In fact, the altercation was quite intense and received a lot of media attention at the time.

It wasn’t the only time these two players went hard against each other during their careers and it’s interesting to see how things have changed, with both players now teammates and elder statesmen on the San Antonio Spurs.

When asked about those bruising battles and scuffles throughout the years, Harrison Barnes can’t help but smile.

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“I’ve probably known Chris since I was 15, maybe 14,” said Barnes.”

We know. We found a 2010-dated video of a very young Barnes being asked what it was like to be able to play and participate in Chris Paul’s Elite Summer Basketball Camp.

“It’s just the best,” said an enthusiastic 15-year-old Barnes in a slightly higher-pitched voice than the one he possesses now.

Yes, Chris Paul entered the league seven years before Harrison Barnes and his parents still help him run the same Elite Basketball camp for younger players to this day.

Paul entered the NBA in 2005 when he was selected as the 4th overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2005 NBA Draft. Barnes joined the NBA in 2012, after being selected as the 7th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2012 NBA Draft.

“So I had my relationship with him before I got to the league and then obviously when I got to the league, it was a little bit more intense, you know, a rivalry was there. But he’s just one of those guys, you know, I always hated playing against Chris,” admits Barnes with a smile.

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“I mean, just late game, I don’t know how many games we’ve lost where, you know, he’s

been the mastermind behind something that went wrong. And to now be on the same

side as him, I look forward to enjoying those privileges. So it’s great, especially because I

think in this league, as you get older, as you have more years, you don’t want to take moments for granted.

“You know, you don’t know how many more years Chris has in this league. He’s done a tremendous amount. I think it’s like 20 or something for him.

So, you know, just however long he’s got left, you want to just appreciate that, cherish that, whether it’s one, two, three, four, whatever it is. I’m excited to make the most of it.“

Paul is indeed starting his 20th year in the NBA as the Spurs kick off the preseason tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder- a team that Paul played for one year during the 2019-2020 NBA season. He was traded to the Thunder from the Houston Rockets in the 2019 offseason and it turned out to be a brief but impactful tenure for Paul with the Thunder- where he led them to a playoff appearance.

After that season, Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the 2020 offseason. He stayed there for two seasons before signing with the Warriors in 2023 but his tenure with the Warriors lasted just one season before he was waived. He signed with the Spurs and San Antonio is hoping that he and Barnes can have the same type of meaningful impact Paul provided to the young Thunder squad four years ago.

The Spurs won’t officially announce or say it, but the players on this edition of the Silver and Black all seem ready and confident to take their “playoffs or bust” mentality into the regular season with Barnes and Paul leading the way.

“We’ve had a ton of battles. Like I said, it’s pretty special to think about, you know, just obviously him and I, him and coach (Popovich), me and coach (Popovich) and all the different things,” said Barnes.

“And so, like I said, when you get a little bit older, you just try to maximize the time because you just never know how many years you have left with those guys.”

Maximize their time is precisely what the Spurs hope they can do.

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