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The world of sports is filled with rituals and superstitions that coaches and players rely on to get into the perfect mindset before a game, whether we’re talking about the carb-filled monstrosity that is Alexander Ovechkin’s pregame meal or Ed Orgeron’s time-honored tradition of chugging a Red Bull, ripping off his shirt, and punching himself in the face to motivate his players.
There are plenty of ways to get amped before a game, and based on the number of athletes who stroll into arenas and stadiums with a pair of Beats over their ears blasting their playlist of choice (which probably includes “Til’ I Collapse”) listening to music is one of the more popular ways to pump yourself up. However, based on a moment captured on camera last night, Chris Paul had a slightly untraditional way of preparing for the Rockets game against the Warriors.
The ever-vigilant Rob Perez shared a clip of Paul chilling in front of his locker, and it appears the Houston guard decided there was no better way to prepare for the Western Conference Finals matchup than crushing an episode of Orange Is the New Black.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/998346354580688897
While there are certain Netflix shows I could see some players turning to ahead of going to battle— the hallway fight from Daredevil comes to mind—and while I’m guilty of binge-watching the same series as Paul, I’m not sure it would be my show of choice before a big game.
The Rockets ended up getting absolutely demolished in a 126-85 blowout, so while I don’t want to tell Paul how he should prep for games in the future, he might want to try a different strategy (or at least a different show).