He has helped build homes in New Orleans; and last week, Paul donated pairs of his soon-to-be released signature shoe, the CP3, to an area high school basketball team. Last month, Paul and Miami Heat all-star guard Dwyane Wade spent $10,000 to open a family resource center at Sylvanie F. Williams Elementary School. The center is meant to give parents a place to take an active role in their children's education. "It's not something I do for notoriety," Paul said. "It's because I want to, most of all. Giving back here is always a nonstop thing. It's not just giving [money]."

On the day Paul and Wade opened the center last month, not all of the children were Hornets fans. "You're going to get beat tonight," fifth-grader Israel Syprian, 11, told Paul. "Miami gon' beat you."

Paul laughed and told Syprian to watch the game. The Hornets drilled the Heat, 114-88, and Paul returned to the school the next week and sought out Syprian. "When we beat the life out of the Heat. . . . he didn't say too much," Paul said with a laugh.

Paul sat and talked with Syprian for several minutes about school and life. The short encounter left an impression. Syprian's mother, Tamsin, recently called the Hornets' vice president for community affairs, Steve Martin, to tell him that her son has been more focused in school receiving better grades ever since he met Paul. "She feels it has had such a great impact on the kid," Martin said.

Shortly after the Hornets selected Paul No. 4 in the 2005 draft, he was prepared to buy a house on Canal Street, but hurricanes Katrina and Rita canceled those plans and forced him and his teammates to move to Oklahoma City for two seasons. He had a modest three-bedroom house in Oklahoma City, but now that he is back in New Orleans for good, Paul has bought a riverfront condo near New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. Paul and Bush are friends and they even share a chef.

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"He loves being here and he loves the city of New Orleans," Paul's older brother and manager, C.J. Paul, said. "With Katrina coming through, the city needs somebody to pick them up. He feels it. He loves it."

He already knows that he will be touching almost every corner of the city this weekend. "I go from one thing to another one and to another one," Paul said.

Is he going to have any energy left for the game on Sunday? "I'm going to make sure I do," he said.

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