NBA superstar Chris Paul is a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer when his time comes, with accolades galore: first-team All American at Wake Forest University, fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, 12-time All Star, and two-time Olympic gold medalist. In his debut memoir, Sixty-One: Life Lessons From Papa, On and Off the Court (St. Martin’s, June 20), Paul, working with longtime ESPN writer Michael Wilbon, avoids a strict rehearsal of his career, an approach that dooms many athlete memoirs. Instead, the author, now in his 18^th season in the NBA, chronicles his life story via his grandfather’s lessons about faith, family, and hard work.

When Paul was growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Nathaniel “Papa” Jones was one of the most beloved members of the community—until the tragic day he was murdered at the age of 61. A day later, Paul honored Papa by scoring 61 points in a high school game. Since then, he has remained dedicated and focused on the community values that Papa instilled in him. “Even now, no matter what role I play on a team, one thing is constant: hard work,” writes the author. “No matter if you’re stronger than me, taller than me, faster than me, one thing you won’t do is outwork me.” Our reviewer called the book “a fresh and refreshing take on the athlete memoir.” I spoke with Paul via Zoom just after he finished recording the audiobook for Sixty-One; our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I appreciate that this is not a by-the-numbers athlete memoir. Why did you write this book now, and why did you focus on your grandfather and what he taught you?

I’ll be 38 in a couple months, and I believe that timing is everything. When I was younger, I couldn’t see what I was dealing with. Now I can appreciate that something so long ago still impacts the decisions I make every day. This was therapeutic for me, to talk about a lot of things that I never got an opportunity to talk about before and just show people how special those bonds are—with our elders, with our grandparents.

One of your grandfather’s main lessons was the importance of a consistent work ethic—regarding basketball, that shows up especially on the defensive end. How do you maintain that diligence?

What I’ve seen is that kids now are all just trying to see who can get the best step back [jump shot] and who can dunk. Everything is offense driven, and it’s crazy. Even in the NBA, it seems like nobody trains for defense. I play that way because I think the game defensively. I talk about my college coach in the book [Skip Prosser]. He came to recruit me during one of my high school games, and I played well and dropped 35. After the game, I put on my warm-up suit and came out of the locker room to meet with him, and he looked me in my eye and said, “Are you ever gonna play some defense?”

Coach Prosser was clearly a big influence. Tell me more about him and his approach.

He had the discipline that reminded me of my grandfather and my dad. They were always hard on me and my brother because they wanted us to be great. I saw that in Coach Prosser. He wasn’t somebody who was trying to kiss my ass and tell me what I wanted to hear, and people need that more than they realize.

Absolutely. You write about how a coach once told you that you would always have to deal with someone who doesn’t care as much as you.

Yes, I was just talking about this with [former Phoenix Suns teammate] Kevin Durant the other day during a timeout. So many guys are really talented, but they may not love the game. I’ve learned over the years that you have to meet people where they are. Everybody has to set their own path. When I coach youth players, the first thing I want them to understand is that you don’t sneak up on greatness; it takes hard work. Sometimes those setbacks are the things you need. I had those humbling experiences early in my career, and it helped me keep my edge, and I still got it. I don’t care if you came from an inner-city, single-parent home and all of that. There are definitely challenges there, but there are also challenges for the privileged kid who has the trainers and has everything given to them. Everybody faces different storms and obstacles in their life. It’s about how you react when it does get tough. Everybody’s story isn’t the same—and it shouldn’t be the same—but the one thing you can’t lack is the hard work.

During the pandemic, the NBA played in a self-created “bubble” at a Disney resort in Florida, without fans or travel. While there, the players were invited to put a name or brief message on their jerseys in support of a social justice cause in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. It was obviously a tumultuous time and a unique experience. How did you navigate that?

I could write a whole different book about the bubble. I’ll just tell you, we had 450 of the most recognizable faces in the world in one place. Everyone’s always going to have their opinions, and rightfully so. There were a lot of guys who asked to put whatever they wanted to, but realistically, you know that’s not possible. In some ways, I wanted that, but as you start talking to guys, you start to realize that some of the messages weren’t going to happen. A lot of guys didn’t fully understand that, and there were plenty of behind-the-scenes, heated conversations, much-needed conversations. At the end, most of us were happy with the messages that were chosen [for example, the NBA painted “Black Lives Matter” on the court], and we got through it.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your book?

I think one of the biggest things is that during the process of writing and editing the book, I got a newfound appreciation for authors—and not just the authors, but the editors and people who work on the audiobook and all the different intricacies that go into it. This was a lot of work that I’m proud of and excited about, but it was difficult with all the deadlines and trying to make sure everything is like you want it to be. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a novelist and write books over and over and over again, but this was a fun process. I really hope that people not only read the book, but I would love for you to listen to the audiobook, which I just finished recording.

Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor.