“Bitcoin has actually underperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years, despite being far more volatile.”
The Atlantic’s James Surowiecki, on the pitfalls of institutionalizing crypto
READ MORE
“I said, ‘Oh, let’s start second-floor-maxxing while we’re at the mall.’ And people in chat were just like, ‘You’re such an idiot, dude, just say ‘go upstairs.’”
The New York Times’ Joseph Bernstein, on the argot of Clavicular
READ MORE
“A man whose job is to regulate broadcast TV suggests everyone just leave broadcast TV. It’s like when Arby’s changed their slogan to ‘Arby’s, would it kill you to eat a salad?’”
Stephen Colbert, on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr
READ MORE
Quote/Unquote
Chris Paul is a (now) former NBA player, who played in the league for 21 seasons, earned 12 All-Star selections, and won multiple Olympic Gold Medals. He played on a number of teams throughout his career, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, and—my personal favorite—the San Antonio Spurs. On Friday, Paul announced his retirement from the game, before jetting off to the NBA All-Star Weekend courtesy of AT&T.
This interview has been edited.
Mark Stenberg: You announced your retirement after 21 seasons last week. Why now?
Chris Paul: It was time. I feel like I had given everything I could give to the game. I joined the league when I was 19, and I’m 40 now. I have wanted to be more present for my family and be a part of their daily lives, and now I finally get to do that.
Mark: You partnered with AT&T during the All-Star Weekend, speaking with two HBCU teams ahead of their Friday night matchup and shooting hoops with the Twitch streamer Clix. Why work with AT&T?
Chris: AT&T has actually been a part of my life and my family in a serious way. My grandmother worked at AT&T for 30 years, and my dad worked there for 10 years. She worked the first shift and he worked the second, and we had AT&T stickers around the house. Over the weekend the company gave me an AT&T basketball—I asked if I could keep it, to give it to my grandma, and my dad kept trying to take it.
Mark: You also have an HBCU connection I was unaware of. I knew you played college basketball at Wake Forest, so I was surprised by your Winston Salem background.
Chris: Yeah I actually graduated from Winston Salem in December 2022 with a degree in communications. So when AT&T brought out the teams from Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State for a game Friday night, I got to speak with them in the locker room and talk to them about the stage they were going to play on. That was amazing.
