Chris Paul’s emotional moment with Monty Williams in Game 6 is a real tearjerker (Video)

It’s been a long road to get to the Finals for both Chris Paul and Monty Williams, who shared an emotional moment in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

After 16 years in the league, Chris Paul has finally reached the NBA Finals. The 36-year-old poured in 41 points to lead the Suns to a 130-103 win over the Clippers in Game 6 on Wednesday.

It’s been a long ride for Paul getting to this point, and as the game was in the final minutes, he began to let all of his emotions out with Phoenix head coach Monty Williams.

Williams began his head coaching career with the former New Orleans Hornets during the 2010-11 season. That was the final season Paul stayed in New Orleans, after being drafted by the Hornets in 2005.

Monty Williams and Chris Paul have a shared history before the Suns

Although their time together was just for one season, it was a learning experience for a then-25-year-old Paul and a 39-year-old Williams who fell in the first round of the playoffs. The two have taken different routes and made multiple stops in their careers since then to get to this point, but without the ups and downs, who knows if they’d be on this path now.

Just prior to the 2020-21 regular season, Williams explained a shift in his coaching philosophy with Paul, as reported by AZ Central.

"“I was walking around like I was a dictator, ready to cut somebody’s head off, trying to implement my way and my program,” Williams said. “Don’t think I was good at allowing him to do what the great ones do. There were times I felt like I took the paint brush out of his hands."

Williams has enough trust in Paul not to get in his way and it’s since paid off. Along with the newly acquired Jae Crowder, their veteran presences have helped the likes of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton flourish into the next level of competitiveness. What’s just as impressive is the contribution from the team’s young role players like Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Cameron Payne.

For Paul and the Suns to reach this level after finishing with a record below .500 last season is an amazing accomplishment. It was an emotional moment for Paul and Williams just getting to the Finals, so you could imagine what it’d be like if they win it all.