Chris Paul

The story of Chris Paul and Winston-Salem runs through a service station and a single basketball game.

Paul grew up in Lewisville, in Forsyth County — the county that contains Winston-Salem, adjacent enough that the city claims him, and fairly so. His grandfather Nathaniel Jones ran a service station there, and Paul has described him as his best friend. In 2002, Jones was murdered, a case that became known locally as the Winston-Salem Five. Shortly after, Paul went out and scored exactly 61 points in a high school game — the same number as his grandfather's age — then intentionally missed a free throw and took himself out, with points still available on the board and a state record within reach. He walked away from both. That choice, made by a teenager in grief, tells you more about who he is than any statistic.

He went on to star at Wake Forest University, entered the NBA draft, and built one of the most decorated careers the point guard position has ever seen — leading the league in assists five times and steals a record six times, named to twelve All-Star teams, serving as president of the players' union for nearly a decade. The accolades are staggering and well-documented. But the foundation underneath all of it was established here, in Forsyth County.

In 2005, Paul and his family established a philanthropic partnership with The Winston-Salem Foundation, built explicitly in honor of Nathaniel Jones and rooted in the city that shaped him. Winston-Salem is a place that runs on legacy — tobacco families, Moravian settlers, institutions that outlasted the industries that built them. Paul fits that grain. He came from here, lost something irreplaceable here, and kept coming back.