National Basketball Association

Chris Paul reveals the secret operation responsible for his red-hot start

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:31 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

At the not-so-tender age of 31, Chris Paul is having one of the best seasons of his career.

First, let's get all the caveats out of the way. It's early in the season, CP3 is due for some regression, and the Clippers have played a relatively easy schedule so far. Still, with all that said, Paul's numbers through 11 games are mind-boggling. The career 36.8% 3-point shooter is knocking down 47.3% of his triples in 2016-17 while taking a career-high 5.0 3s per game.

Naturally, this hot start raises a question: How has a nine-time All-Star in his 12th NBA season so drastically improved as an outside shooter?

On Wednesday, Paul told reporters his secret — he can finally see the basket.

This isn't a particularly rare move for a professional athlete. Tiger Woods famously had multiple surgeries to sharpen his vision, winning both tournaments immediately following his procedures. In the NBA, stars such as Amar'e Stoudemire, Richard Hamilton and even Dwyane Wade have credited LASIK with helping them on the court.

Paul and the 10-1 Clippers are off to the best start in the NBA, and the point guard's improved vision isn't the only reason. Coach Doc Rivers told reporters this week that his team is simply tired of losing:

"You get tired of losing," Rivers said. "The whole second-round [playoff ceiling the franchise has yet to break through] ... I don't think our guys care about that, they just want to win. At some point guys just get tired of losing. I think our guys are at that point."

"This team has a lot of built-up frustration," Pierce said. "They have first-round losses, second-round losses. ... This looks like built-up frustration over here."

Here's hoping that frustration doesn't result in a certain member of the team throwing any punches.