Miami Heat youngster KZ Okpala apparently caught the eye of NBA legend Chris Paul at one point this season.
“[Caron] Butler spent some of this season working with second-year Heat player KZ Okpala, who hadn’t seen much time on the floor,” Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer wrote. “In early March, he got a text from Paul that included a video of Okpala during a game against the Orlando Magic. Butler was thrown off. Why was Paul watching a random Heat-Magic game in the middle of the season? He watched the clip—one where Okpala pulled off a dribble move along the baseline—and saw that Paul guessed Butler had taught Okpala the move because it was something Butler did often when he and Paul played together. Butler was blown away.”
That’s an incredible observation from Paul. No small detail goes over the future Hall of Famer’s head.
“He is so aware of everything happening around him,” Butler said. “He is the type of individual that you could be on the opposite team, and he could tell you when you should cut. This is your own play and he’s telling you where to go.”
While Okpala hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in the early stages of his career, it seems he has some outstanding veteran leadership to help him take his game to the next level.
In the 2020-21 season, the second-year player averaged 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.