Former NBA player fires back at social media trolls after his name comes up in connection with Spurs’ Chris Paul deal

Brandon Paul, a former college basketball star from Illinois who played in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs, fired back against trolling on social media on Monday after Chris Paul joined his former team.

Chris Paul has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal at the start of NBA free agency. The star point guard has famously worn the No. 3 jersey throughout his professional and college career. Brandon Paul also wore No. 3 when he played in 64 games for the Spurs in 2017-18.

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Chris Paul, No. 3 pick of the Golden State Warriors, looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings during the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament on April 16, 2024 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

This sparked a post on X aimed at Spurs fans.

“Great news for all the Spurs fans who kept their Brandon Paul jerseys,” college football writer Steve Helwick wrote on the social media platform with a picture of the former NBA player.

Brandon Paul had his own message.

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Brandon Paul, No. 3, of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California on January 8, 2018. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

“The only thing worse than being trolled online is being trolled online by people with blue check marks who work at, say, Menards,” he wrote.

The former basketball player took the trolling in his stride and even praised Helwick’s original post.

“Haha no no it’s all love bro. I meant the comments – but this is comedic gold, I appreciate you sharing it,” he added.

Brandon Paul, No. 3 of the San Antonio Spurs, holds the ball in his hand during the game against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston on October 30, 2017. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

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During his college years at Illinois, Paul averaged 12 points per game and appeared in the NCAA tournament in two of his four seasons there.

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