HORNETS: Hornets Debut Bookmobile In Oklahoma City

HORNETS: Hornets Debut Bookmobile In Oklahoma City

Chris Paul climbed the steps of a teal-and-yellow school bus Tuesday and assumed his position in the driver's seat. Before he could turn on the ignition to take the Hornets-- brand-new Bookmobile for a spin, though, he had one question.

"Don't I need to sign some release that says I'm not liable for damages from driving this?" the rookie point guard joked.

As it turned out, Paul had no reason to worry. CP3 successfully navigated two right turns, pulling up to the front door of Mark Twain Elementary School in Oklahoma City. There, Paul joined teammates Desmond Mason and Bostjan Nachbar in discussing the importance of reading during a school assembly, to tip off the Hornets' Read to Achieve program.

Prior to the three Hornets entering the school to the screams of hundreds of kids, the top-reading third-grade class at Mark Twain Elementary picked up free books from the Bookmobile.

"It's definitely not an everyday occurrence that you would have NBA players at your school," said Angee Allen, reading coach at Mark Twain Elementary. "We're very excited to have the Hornets here today."

After exiting the bus, many of the youngsters swarmed Hugo the Hornet, in order to slap high-fives. One of Mark Twain's teachers joked to Nachbar that the enthusiastic kids seemed to be more captivated by Hugo than by the presence of well-known NBA players.

"It's like that at every school we go to!" responded a smiling Nachbar.

Paul, Mason and Nachbar addressed questions from a kindergartner about which books are their favorites to read. Paul likes mystery books; Mason enjoys books about art; Nachbar prefers to read about history.

"I also like to read basketball magazines, to keep up on what's going on around the NBA," Mason added, before pointing to Paul. "This guy has been on the cover of just about every basketball magazine over the last two months."

Meanwhile, Nachbar shared his interesting background with the assembled youngsters. Boki, who speaks five languages, grew up in Slovenia and went to an elementary school where his mother was a teacher.

"I always had to be the best guy in class," Nachbar related of the pressure of having a mother for a teacher. "Some of my friends may have been able to get away with it, but it would have been impossible for me to hide a bad grade. My mom knew about everything!"