ESPN has been criticized for tapping Chris Paul to join pregame coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The series began with the Pacers taking on the Celtics in Game 1 on Tuesday night, and fans weren’t too happy when they saw Paul on their screens.
“What is Chris Paul like as an ESPN playoff analyst?” wrote one reviewer on X.
“How much money was spent and how many levels of approval were passed for ESPN to get to Chris Paul,” another chimed in.
A third wrote: “ESPN, I promise you no one wants to listen to Chris Paul covering this game.” Literally not a soul. For whom is this??’
ESPN tapped Chris Paul to join the network’s coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals
Fans weren’t too happy when they saw Paul on their screens on Tuesday night.
Others took a more light-hearted approach in their criticism of the future Hall of Famer, who never won a championship.
“Chris Paul described what it takes to win a championship on TV… he thought it was ESPN and not Comedy Central,” one person joked.
A second fan added: ‘There were no winners available? DO IT BETTER.’
“Were there no winners available?” one fan wrote, referencing the fact that he hasn’t won a championship.
‘ESPN, I promise no one wants to listen to Chris Paul,’ wrote one viewer on X
Some critics took a more light-hearted approach in their criticism of the future Hall of Famer.
Paul’s NBA season ended last month when the Warriors suffered a play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings.
His appearance on ESPN came a few hours after a retired NBA referee called the All-Star point guard one of the league’s “biggest assholes.”
‘I’m going to tell you, and I know you’re recording me, but I get asked all the time, ‘Who are some of the tough guys, some of the bad guys?’ Bill Spooner said The Athletic.
It came just hours after a retired referee called Paul one of the NBA’s ‘biggest assholes.’
Spooner, seen here in 2018, officiated for 32 seasons before retiring in 2020.
Paul has frequently clashed with referee Scott Foster over the years.
“And when I tell them that Chris Paul, in my 32 years in the league, was one of the biggest jerks I’ve ever had to deal with, they say, ‘No Rasheed Wallace… no da-da-da?'” No. Nothing like (Paul),’ he continued.
And they say, “Oh, he seems like a nice guy.” And I say, “Yeah, he’s a great image cultivator.”
Paul has long had issues with one referee in particular: Scott Foster.
The 39-year-old isn’t the only one with a dislike for Foster, who was voted the league’s worst referee in a 2023 anonymous player poll by The Athletic.
However, Foster, who has been an NBA official since 1994, maintains a strong standing in the league and has refereed the last 16 NBA Finals.
