Chris Paul Playoff Record: Historically Bad With 2-0 Lead

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

The Phoenix Suns may have gotten off to a sizzling 2-0 series lead in the 2021 NBA Finals, but the Milwaukee Bucks didn't take that deficit sitting down. Now, Milwaukee owns a 3-2 series lead after three consecutive wins. Better yet for the Bucks, the series is heading back home to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Game 6.

For one Suns player, point guard Chris Paul, this is a trip down his own awful memory lane. If the Suns are unable to pull out two consecutive victories and win the coveted Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, Paul will make NBA Playoffs history. And, not the type of history athletes are interested in.

Currently, Paul and his former teammate Blake Griffin are the only two players in league history to lose a best-of-seven series after leading 2-0 three different times. If Paul and the Suns cannot flip the 2021 Finals back on its head, then the 36-year-old veteran will become the first player in league history to do this four times.

Chris Paul 2-0 Playoff Record

Considering Paul and Griffin spent six years together with the Los Angeles Clippers, some of this historically bad stat is shared. While in Los Angeles, both Griffin and Paul lost two different series after leading two games to none. This includes a pair of Western Conference first round matchups in 2013 and 2016. In 2013, Los Angeles lost in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies. The pair did it again in 2016 after getting up 2-0 on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Paul, who had been considered a favorite to win NBA Finals MVP at one point in the 2021 series, also fell apart one prior with the New Orleans Hornets. New Orleans held a 2-0 series lead in the 2008 Western Conference Semifinals before losing in 7 to the San Antonio Spurs.

Griffin and the Brooklyn Nets lost in seven games to this same Bucks squad after leading 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Paul and his current Suns squad will look to avoid a little bit of bad personal history on Tuesday night. However, the sports bettors like Milwaukee in Game 6 as the Bucks' enter as 5-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.