Former rival Deron Williams admits to being jealous of Chris Paul

Chris Paul’s continued success in the NBA has at least one old rival feeling a bit envious.

Former All-Star Deron Williams spoke this week to TMZ Sports and admitted to being jealous of his contemporary Paul.

“I’m a little jealous he’s still out there shining,” said Williams. “You know, it’s fun to watch. He’s a special player, one of the best to ever do it and he’s defied time. Seems like every team that he goes to, he makes them instantly better because there’s nobody who predicted the Suns to be in the Finals last year. He was a huge part of that.”

Williams and Paul were rivals when the former was with the Utah Jazz and the latter was with the New Orleans Hornets. The two players are the same age, and Williams was selected one pick ahead of Paul in the 2005 draft.

Paul’s longevity and continued success at 36 years old are truly a marvel to behold. While Williams has been out of the league for years, he can at least say that he has as many Finals appearances (one in 2017 with the Cleveland Cavaliers) as Paul does (one last season with the Suns). Williams has also since graduated to some other interesting pursuits off the court.