Phoenix Suns Player Chris Paul Graduates College And Gifts Each Graduate $2,500

NBA star Chris Paul is ending his college experience with a bachelor's degree in communications and a gift for each of his fellow graduates.

The Phoenix Suns point guard, nicknamed CP3, walked across the Winston-Salem State University stage on Friday to receive his degree, but before doing that, at the beginning of the ceremony, an announcement was made that each graduate would receive a gift from the NBA player.

While speaking to the press, Paul, 37, said his commencement made him feel "normal," and that he "wanted to stand outside and wait with them."

"Some of my classmates today was asking me questions like, 'Why? Why you doing this? Why you doing that?' He was like, 'You probably hate being famous or something like this or what not' and I was like, 'Man, being here with y'all made my day,'" he said. "There are so many different things that we do on a regular day that, as far as being an athlete, I'm playing all these games but sometimes you just wanna be normal."

He continued by explaining that he wanted the full experience of being a college graduate. "I wanted to talk to them and let them hear from me and me hear from them. It's a big deal," he said. "Everyone has their own journey, their own experiences, and I wanted to full experience of what it meant to be a graduate."

Not only did he want the full experience of being a "normal" graduate, but he also wanted to give a gift to his fellow graduates. At the beginning of the ceremony, it was announced that Paul is funding a bank account from digital platform Greenwood for each graduate that will include $2,500.

Getting to this point was no quick or easy feat for Paul. He attended Forest University until his sophomore year and left school after being the No. 4 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He then began his professional basketball career with the Charlotte Hornets. The NBA star returned to school at Winston-Salem State University in 2020 to complete his degree.

According to ESPN, after the graduation ceremony Paul said that he, "didn't want it to be about me." "I was trying to make it as normal as possible. You know, all these students here have fought their butts off for a while to get their degree. And I wanted to make sure that in no way I was trying to show them up on their special day," he explained. "They had a lot of family, loved ones that's here to support them and to see them. And I just wanted to be a graduate just like that."

Paul told the Arizona Republic that it was "a long time coming" and that he's "excited" and that this was something he's been "striving for." "My brother was the first person to graduate in my family," he said. "To be able to go back home and do that with my family is something that snuck up kind of quick but I'm probably most excited that I get to spend the next 10 days with my wife and kids, so that's the best thing."

Paul shared a carousel of photos and videos of his exciting night on Instagram captioned, "Bucket list moment!! @wssu1892 ALUMNI!!!" The comment section of the post was filled with congratulatory messages and support.

Former NBA star Dwayne Wade left the comment, "Big bro!" and NBA star LeBron James left a simple yet powerful message, "????????????✊?" Winston-Salem State University also left a message for the new graduate, "Congratulations #WSSUGrad! ? ? ? #WSSUAlumni"