By skyforbes 
EVERY TIME DORT watches film, Paul pops into his mind. That's because Dort still uses the iPad that Paul bought for him during their season as teammates, when a purchase that expensive would have put a significant dent in the paycheck Dort received while on a two-way contract.
"What I saw in Lu really quick was that he had the work ethic," Paul said.
Paul wanted Dort to have the tools he needed to properly study the game, so he bought the iPad for him, as the 12-time All-Star has done for a lot of rookie teammates over the years. Paul made sure that Dort had access to Second Spectrum, a subscription service used by NBA teams, and tutored him on how to filter clips by using specific searches by play categories or statistics. And Paul often watched film with Dort, pointing out nuances he should notice and advising him on how to take notes.
"Being CP3's rook, honestly, it was amazing, especially in the position that I was in on a two-way," Dort told ESPN. "Obviously, Chris is Chris, and me coming out of college, I see Chris as a big superstar. So at first we didn't have that many conversations, but as I got more with the team, we got closer and I could see what type of guy Chris really was. And he was a great dude, honestly.
On off nights when the Thunder were home, the team's players were all welcome at Paul's place, where the future Hall of Famer lived alone while his family stayed in Los Angeles that 2019-20 season. His chef would prepare a healthy and hearty dinner — vegan for Paul and other options for his guests — and the players would eat and watch that night's NBA action.
Those nights became routine for a few of the Thunder's youngest players, including promising second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and raw, undrafted rookie Luguentz Dort, the only two players remaining on Oklahoma City's roster from that season. They'd settle into the couches, viewing one game on the big screen and another on Paul's iPad, and soak up the wisdom of one of this generation's smartest basketball minds.
"We'd just be chilling," Gilgeous-Alexander told ESPN recently. "But how we used to watch the games, he was never, like, just watching them. He was always watching 'em to learn."
Gilgeous-Alexander distinctly remembers getting a phone call from Paul shortly after waking up on an off day during an early-season trip.
"Let's go lift," Paul said, more of a demand than a suggestion.
Gilgeous-Alexander expressed confusion in his reply, saying that he thought lifting weights was a summer activity to build strength. Paul gave an extensive explanation about the importance of in-season lifting to help stay healthy, detailing how working certain muscles served as preventative maintenance. Just like that, they became frequent lifting partners.
"Those are things that when you're teammates, that's just normal," Paul said. "If I got something going on and they can help me, they help me. If they got something going on, that's just a teammate, [sharing] the knowledge. With them being younger, I was just trying to show [them]. I think that's the importance of vets."
One of Paul's biggest pet peeves was when Dort would pass up open looks. Those were statistically sensible decisions — Dort was a poor shooter at that point, making only 29.7% of his 3-point attempts that season. But Paul wanted to instill confidence in Dort, who eventually earned a standard contract with his relentless defense as a rookie.
"I used to be on Lu all the time," Paul said. "I used to say, 'Lu, you play defense so hard and you compete so hard that I don't care if you miss [shots] on offense. I just want you to shoot it and give yourself a chance.' When guys compete and play like that, then you live with the results."
Paul happily poured into Dort, who eventually progressed to shooting 41.2% from 3-point range last season, because he recognized the then-rookie's burning desire to get better. Paul saw the same characteristic in Gilgeous-Alexander, whom Paul calls a "basketball junkie," which is the ultimate compliment coming from him.