SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — Chris Paul went straight to the domino desk. He took a seat on a metal bench bolted to the concrete, the linked tabletop coated by a white material.
Sitting throughout from him was Reginald Thorpe. Or merely, Reg. He’s been incarcerated for greater than 23 years. Reg is 47 years previous now. He’s bought grays in his pencil mustache and in the roots of his locks, that are so lengthy he wraps them round his head like a turban.
“You in trouble,” Reg advised Paul whereas shuffling the dominoes.
The Warriors level guard smiled. He performs all the time on his cellphone. The event to slap bones in individual excited him. That it was occurring at San Quentin State Prison solely added to the problem. A crowd gathered, hovering over the desk.
Paul’s black hat was turned to the again. His black hoodie and black sweats didn’t jive with the beaming Marin County solar. But they did match his vitality at the domino desk. A bit of that Chris Paul locking-up-on-defense vitality.
“You ain’t getting me,” Paul fired again, his eyes locked on the dominoes he chosen.
Paul might have by no means imagined when the Warriors traded for him again in June that it might land him in jail surrounded by convicted criminals. Or that he’d be having fun with it.
It doesn’t matter that Reg is from East Oakland. Or what he did to find yourself in the carceral system. Reg sat down at the desk, so Paul needed to beat him. It was on.
Almost.
“Hold up,” Paul mentioned, getting up from the desk to take a look at the hoopla on the court docket. “Hold up. They doing nicknames out here?”
The beginning lineups had been being introduced for the resurrected annual sport between the San Quentin Warriors basketball workforce and the intramural model of the Golden State Warriors — a squad comprised of front-office and workers personnel. The custom started in 2012 and has grown into a partnership of types between the world sports activities franchise and this reputed rehabilitation facility. This sport gained widespread notoriety as the topic of the Michael Tolajian-directed documentary “Q Ball,” government produced by Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures.
The showdown quietly resumed final 12 months. But this 12 months, on a heat Wednesday in late September, was the first full-throttle affair since 2019. To mark the event, the Warriors introduced with them 4 former incarcerated individuals from San Quentin. Rahsaan Thomas, launched this previous February after 21 years, co-hosted the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast “Ear Hustle” and wrote about Golden State’s visits for the San Quentin News. Montrell Vines, launched in January after 23 years, performed in six of the 9 video games in opposition to the visiting Warriors. Rafael Cuevas, featured prominently in “Q Ball,” was the coach of the San Quentin Warriors earlier than being launched in January after 17 years.
Aaron Taylor, launched in October 2020, was the play-by-play announcer for the annual showdown. It was Taylor, often known as “Showtime,” who bought Paul out of his seat. Showtime, who spent 28 years incarcerated, has develop into a freelance broadcast guru since getting paroled, recognized for his humor and aptitude, and hosts a podcast, “Hard In the Paint.”
He got here again to the place he honed his craft, this time as a free man.
“It means I’m keeping my word,” Taylor mentioned. “To walk back inside means I haven’t forgotten them. Them knowing that I still care means something to me. I spent 26 years in there. I never plan on wearing blues again, but a piece of me is still in there. I walked out after 9,549 days. Me walking back out means that one day, they’ll walk out.”
As he did for years, Showtime introduced life to the occasion, sufficient to distract Paul from the domino desk. Warriors participant improvement coach Noel Hightower was dubbed “Jesus Shuttlesworth” by Showtime and “K-Swizzle” was his identify for assistant normal supervisor Kent Lacob.
The occasion has been upgraded since Showtime was final on the mic there. A Behringer mixer and a pair of Yamaha audio system had been introduced over from the chapel. A digital scoreboard now joined the guide flip scoreboard. The anthem was performed by a guitarist after a presentation of the flag from the Armed Forces Color Guard. A small part of chairs was arrange in the nook for household, buddies and San Quentin staffers.
The Golden State go to is a bit fancier now. As fancy as may be with a barbed-wire halo.
The shiniest new addition is Paul. This wasn’t the day he actually turned a Warrior. That baptism should occur on the court docket, in the deep waters of the NBA playoffs. But what was clearer than the sky hovering over this notorious edifice is why Paul might work as a Warrior.
Because this once-sworn enemy of Golden State could be extra like the Warriors’ championship core than anybody in these components might have imagined.
This trip to San Quentin occurs yearly as a result of this grungy jail — with a historical past of housing the most infamous, and nonetheless house to demise row — is a mannequin for rehabilitation prospects. The incarcerated individuals taking part have finished and are doing the work of confronting their broken selves, of addressing their traumas and fears, via intense remedy, counseling and self-improvement mechanisms.
On a a lot smaller stage, and in a completely different means, it’s revealing for the guests, too.
It’s jarringly clear the place the jail expertise begins — on the different aspect of a thunderous clang when the rusty barred gate closes. It’s a haunting thud simply loud sufficient to rattle the soul.
No telephones are allowed. No keys. No cash. No something. Those who stroll via these doorways solely have an ID and religion in the protocols. (The media was allowed notebooks and a pen.) You study your self there.
Instantly, the capability to push apart comforts is measured. It takes one thing to look into hardened eyes, shake calloused palms, pay attention to devastating tales and care to see the people in entrance of you and not simply the previous behind them.
And Paul hopped proper in as if it wasn’t laborious. As if he needed the alternative. It was the identical means Durant and Draymond Green dealt with it in 2016. And JaVale McGee in 2017.
“I wasn’t always a basketball player, and I’m not only a basketball player,” Paul mentioned. “The way I was raised, the family I grew up in, we were always just people first before anything else.”
Paul had a connection to San Quentin. His uncle served time there years in the past, he mentioned. It’s a tidbit that contextualizes the individual behind the persona. He isn’t simply the ultra-competitive level guard whose fiery methods have been recognized to burn. This is a man with some texture to his life, with loads of pleasure and some damage, with rampant success anchored by pivotal trials and powerful classes.
And nothing about him suggests he is afraid to join with any of it. It’s as if he is aware of the texture makes him a actual one. Paul strikes with a certainty about who he is and his objective.
For those that’ve adopted Paul’s profession, noticed the years of charity work, the humility he can activate in a blink, and his emphasis on household, this aspect of him isn’t international. But it has felt revelatory in the Warriors’ ecosystem, the place Paul was at all times a villain. They marvel at how he lately took a 6 a.m. flight from Los Angeles so he might work out with Stephen Curry the in the future No. 30 was on the town. And how Paul joined the San Quentin trip of his personal volition. No one solicited his participation. He bought the inside electronic mail about it like everybody else and signed up.
This is how he’s approached his complete Warriors expertise up to now — all in. He’s been absolutely invested in ingratiating himself along with his new fellowship.
The workforce has responded to Paul in sort, particularly the trio of future Hall of Famers. What’s been evident up to now is how a lot he suits in the tradition.
“I’m not only a basketball player,” Chris Paul mentioned. “The way I was raised, the family I grew up in, we were always just people first before anything else.” (Vincent O’Bannon / San Quentin News)
The Warriors make this 30-minute trek to San Quentin as a neighborhood service, but in addition partly to domesticate the type of individuals they need in the entrance workplace, on the teaching workers and the roster. It’s all about including to their perspective. This day isn’t about them, however about honoring the work these incarcerated individuals have finished to earn this small privilege. The day belongs to the San Quentin Warriors.
“Thanks for having us, but I’m working today,” new normal supervisor Mike Dunleavy Jr. declared when requested to give a few phrases earlier than the sport. “Checking you guys out. See who can play.”
And “Steez” was displaying off.
Keyshawn Strickland, 25, was convicted in December 2020 of “willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder” from a 2017 drive-by taking pictures of sufferer Jonathan Swift. Strickland’s conviction additionally included taking pictures at an inhabited home and assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He was sentenced to an mixture time period of 32 years to life in jail. He isn’t eligible for parole till 2038.
But on the court docket, they name him Steez. On today, he’s a star athlete once more, as he was for the Natomas High soccer workforce in Sacramento. He’s about 6-foot-2, skinny and fast. “Will Barton vibes,” as Lacob put it. And Steez’s jumper is clicking in the first couple of minutes. He follows a left-wing 3-pointer with a pull-up 3 in transition from the proper wing. The San Quentin Warriors take an 8-0 lead.
“I was ready for this two weeks ago,” Strickland mentioned after main San Quentin with 24 factors and eight rebounds.
This occasion is a hit as a result of the Warriors have the sort of people that can get snug in such a setting. Such as assistant coach Chris DeMarco, a common in the sport and a favourite amongst the incarcerated. And David Fatoki, the Santa Cruz Warriors normal supervisor. Hannah Heiring, the assistant coach and information specialist, is the solely lady on the court docket and seems to be fully unfazed.
Paul suits the mould completely. He dove proper in. He and Klay Thompson had been the massive attracts.
Thompson, by the means, was a rock star in his San Quentin debut. He fulfilled each autograph request. He agreed to each photograph. He listened to each story, absorbed each reward. And he did it with a grin and show of happiness he most frequently flashes on a boat.
“It was special,” Thompson mentioned. “A long time coming. A long time overdue. I love to see how what we do inspires people. I’m going back with all the motivation I need this season.”
Paul was sloshing the dominoes round along with his palms, often known as “washing the bones.” He misplaced the first sport 100-60. One misplay, and Reg went on a run.
Paul made the proper learn, passing up factors in favor of protection. “All money ain’t good money,” he mentioned as he turned down 15 factors. But he didn’t cowl up the five-five domino — dubbed “big five” — and paid the value. (In dominoes, factors are counted in multiples of 5, so “big five” is of excessive worth.)
Reg was on a roll. He was already forward in the second sport, and Paul was shuffling for the subsequent hand. After Paul completed washing the bones, they every selected seven. (For the uninitiated, the different 14 dominoes go off to the aspect. When a participant doesn’t have a transfer, the penalty is to pull from these 14, often known as “the boneyard.”)
Reg began the new hand by slamming six-four to get 10 factors. Paul was fed up. He picked up the domino and held it up as he began bantering to the viewers.
“All his points came off this same bone,” Paul mentioned. He examined the domino additional. “What’s up with this bone? Is there some kind of secret mark on here or something? All his points coming off this one domino. Next time I come, I’m bringing some bones.”
Moments later, Paul is in additional bother. Reg, who’d found out the dominoes Paul didn’t have, orchestrated a sequence of strikes that despatched Paul to the boneyard. He had no alternative however to pull each final one. Reg is sweet. He had simply two dominoes left. Paul had 11. In dominoes, the first participant to play all their bones is awarded nevertheless many factors stay of their opponent’s hand.
It appeared dangerous for the Warriors level guard.
Reg led 75-55. He was two performs from successful the best-of-three sequence, from beating certainly one of the nice level guards of all time. So, his trash discuss escalated. Reg flipped over his dominoes, revealing his hand.
“Here, let me help you,” Reg mentioned, his smile dripping with condescension.
“I don’t need that,” Paul barked again. “I’m a point guard. I don’t need that. I can read the game.”
In dominoes, it’s a bonus to know the different participant’s hand. But for Paul, the reveal was an insult. When you’re a future first-ballot Hall of Fame level guard who’s spent 18 seasons conducting offenses and fixing defenses, figuring it out is the complete level.
When he was traded to the Warriors, he made a little bit of a splash by seeming to buck at the concept of coming off the bench. But his position wasn’t the concern as a lot as who was purporting to determine it.
The reply to who begins received’t come from the media or followers on Twitter. It will come from their interior circle: the legendary gamers, the coach whom they belief, the technique they concoct. Paul didn’t come to the Warriors to be dictated to however additive to what’s been constructed. This received’t be determined with out him. It shouldn’t be. That’s not how he works. That’s not how they work.
The artwork of what the Warriors do, the basis of their dynasty, is in the strategic maneuvering complementing their expertise. From the means every of the core gamers calculated their path to greatness. To the read-and-react offense. To their respective bold ventures off the court docket. They’re right here as a result of they’re masters of research.
Even their roster requires symbiosis, which is why the Warriors stocked their lineup with veterans. Deciphering who performs properly with whom, and the finest assault, and the deft counter transfer, is central to Warriors basketball.
And Paul has earned the proper to determine it out with them.
Once previous rivals, Paul and Stephen Curry now be a part of forces. And Paul could be extra like the Warriors’ championship core than anybody might’ve imagined. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
“He’s nervous,” Paul taunted again to Reg. “This is not gon’ feel good.”
Paul flipped Reg’s dominoes again over so he couldn’t see them. Reg smiled. Paul hasn’t performed but, however Reg is savvy sufficient to acknowledge the look on Paul’s face. Reg noticed his vulnerability if his opponent performed this proper.
But the crowd round Paul was speaking, too. While he was plotting, they had been telling him of the final cocky domino participant from the Warriors who sat down in that seat.
“We ran Draymond Green up outta here last time,” somebody shouted. Another added: “We had him walking laps.”
After another Green remark, Paul fired again.
“What that gotta do with me?”
Paul bought off three consecutive performs, forcing Reg to move after every. Paul had figured it out. He then dropped “big five” for 25 factors and the win.
He stood up to discuss trash about Reg to the viewers. After the gap Paul had simply pulled himself out of, even Reg was nodding and smiling.
On the court docket, the Golden State contingency had to pull themselves out of a gap, too. In the third quarter, the guests in the fundamental inexperienced jerseys mounted a comeback. Ex-NBA gamers led the means.
One of them was Bracey Wright, an assistant coach for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He was chosen No. 47 in the 2005 draft and had a cup of espresso in the NBA with Minnesota. He positive appeared prefer it.
Wright pulled out the one-legged step-back jumper. Then adopted with back-to-back 3s. The hosts had been reeling.
The different former professional was new Warriors assistant GM Chuck Hayes. The Oakland native was recognized in his 11-year profession for protection and toughness as a small-ball middle. In his San Quentin debut, he was the massive man, filling the position vacated by former Warriors GM Bob Myers.
During Golden State’s third-quarter rally, Hayes switched on to San Quentin’s finest participant, Mason Ryan, for 3 straight possessions. Each time, Hayes bought the cease.
Ryan, simply 22, performed at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose earlier than ending his highschool profession at Golden State Prep in Napa. Five months after the remaining sport of his first season at San Jose City College, Ryan was in jail. His sport continues to be contemporary. He’s sneakily athletic with good dimension, a good deal with and a easy jumper.
Thompson observed him instantly in warm-ups and switched sides.
“My money is on the San Quentin Dubs,” Thompson mentioned earlier than the sport. “Sorry, fellas.”
Hayes, after his defensive wizardry, subbed himself out. He was gassed. He is a tad wider than his 6-foot-6, 240-pound enjoying weight, and prison-yard ball is further bodily.
“I got hit every time,” Hayes would later say. “Every single time the ball went up, I got hit.”
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Jermaine Hunter and Steven Warren aren’t a lot excited by the sport happening. Their focus is on the trigger giving them objective. They’ve wandered away from the court docket to discuss with the day’s company about the nonprofit they’ve began.
They’d already gotten a number of autographs, all on a pair of Curry’s white and black signature sneakers Hunter had draped over his shoulder. The objective isn’t simply fandom. Hunter and Warren lately began ARMs Down, geared toward educating gun violence consciousness to inner-city youth. Hunter’s autographed footwear will go to the trigger.
“We’ve gotta teach somebody else what the OGs were scared to tell us,” mentioned Hunter, a Fresno native in 12 months 22 of a 34-year sentence. He’s eligible for parole in 2026. “They left us blind because they were married to the game.”
They need to be a part of the answer. They imagine it’s time for individuals like them, gun violence offenders, to get again into the communities and unfold the reality they had been denied.
Hunter was convicted of tried homicide with a firearm and nice bodily harm enhancements. He is aware of firsthand the overwhelming collision of concern and energy, of defective ideologies and indoctrination, that comes into play when a teenager lives by the gun.
And one factor they’ve discovered behind these partitions is simply how ridiculous the mindset is about gun violence of their communities.
“On the streets, they’re shooting at each other,” Hunter mentioned. “Then they come in here and be friends with the same people they’re shooting at. Out there, you’re divided. But in here, you need each other. They don’t tell you that part.”
That’s the factor about San Quentin. Without query, the hazard continues to be ever-present. But the reality is the expertise and depth inside this place may be mind-blowing. Here, they’re getting psychological well being therapy, training, arts and ability improvement, self-help teams, recreation and a lot extra.
When Paul requested about the setup and was advised there’d be a few thousand individuals in the yard with them, he was a bit confused. He wanted extra rationalization. What he knew about San Quentin was its repute. His uncle was right here, and he knew how his uncle operated. The concept of incarcerated individuals along with his uncle’s mindset simply strolling round appeared harmful.
Then he discovered this isn’t the San Quentin from the motion pictures. It’s the oldest jail in California, but it surely’s being constructed up as a future mannequin of how the carceral system might evolve. This previous March, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared it the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. The lots of of individuals on demise row will likely be moved to one other jail. It’s going to develop into a check balloon for what occurs when rehabilitation is prioritized over punishment (with those that have confirmed prepared to rehabilitate).
Paul performs dominoes with Reg at San Quentin throughout the Warriors’ annual go to. The facility is shifting to prioritize rehabilitation below a plan from California’s governor. (Vincent O’Bannon / San Quentin News)
The very idea was on show as Paul battled with Reg of their rubber match. Reg requested Paul how he retains his physique up and how his mentality has modified in any case these years. And Paul was absolutely engaged with piercing eye contact, regaling Reg with tales of the previous days they each revere.
“Shaq would lay you down just to send a message,” Paul advised Reg, talking about Shaquille O’Neal. “And I’m like, ‘You’re bigger than me. But we gon’ have to do something.’”
The viewers laughed. They revered Paul’s toughness.
Reg has two affiliate’s levels. He’s engaged on a sociology diploma. (In San Quentin, earned levels knock day off a sentence.) He will get down in dominoes and chess. Like Paul, he’s a thinker. And he was telling the Warriors’ level guard about the means jail assaults your thoughts.
“It’s rough,” Reg mentioned. “You’re thinking about suicide. You’re traumatized in here, man. My faith is the only thing keeping me.”
Suddenly, Reg rapidly slammed down a domino. Paul shook his head.
“Give me 10,” Reg mentioned. “You’re down 25.”
Over at the basketball sport, the Golden State staffers would finally lose regardless of 30 from Wright.
With 57.5 seconds remaining, Delvon Adams stepped to the free-throw line for San Quentin. It was approaching 90 levels however he was fully layered up: a long-sleeve shirt below a t-shirt, below a jersey, and tights beneath his shorts and tucked into socks. His locks wrapped up. A masks coated his mouth, his palms in gardening gloves. He mentioned COVID made him this cautious.
In the most clutch second of the sport, not lengthy after Fatoki missed a wide-open 3 from the prime, Adams swished each free throws. San Quentin led 82-77 with lower than a minute remaining.
“This a birthday win for me,” mentioned Adams, who turned 34 the subsequent day.
Wright put a little scare into San Quentin with a desperation 3 to make it 85-80. Then Lacob bought a steal however missed the transition layup. After one other Golden State turnover, the San Quentin bench was doing the Soulja Boy dance collectively as “Crank That” blasted via the audio system.
“I get to say I’m 1-0 against the Warriors,” Ryan mentioned.
But who didn’t lose?
Out of nowhere, Paul stood up and began speaking to the viewers once more. It’s his flip, however he doesn’t play.
“See,” Paul mentioned, “he’s been doing all that talking.”
He and Reg every nonetheless had a few bones. So why did Paul cease enjoying?
There was one domino, face down on his aspect of the desk. All by itself. Reg pointed to the seat, inviting Paul to sit again down and end enjoying. But Paul advised Reg to flip over the domino. Reg did. Immediately, his defeat was clear. Dagger.
“Twenty,” Paul mentioned. “That’s game.”
The transfer was so chilly, the crowd round the desk groaned.
“Aye! Aye! Listen here!” he mentioned playfully, with each arms in the air. He smiled as he put his arms down. He was simply messing round.
Paul and Reg hugged, like previous buddies. Reg expressed his appreciation for the time and the dialog. Paul responded with thanks of his personal. He additionally defined why victory was essential.
“I had to redeem my dog Draymond.”
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(Illustration: Samuel Richardson / The Athletic. Photos: Vincent O’Bannon / San Quentin News; Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
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