LUMBERTON — Chris Paul has spent the last decade and a half playing in NBA arenas. This fall, he’s using his platform to encourage people into the arena of the 2020 election.

The NBA superstar, currently with the Oklahoma City Thunder, visited Lumberton’s one stop early voting site Wednesday as part of a series of appearances around North Carolina encouraging people to vote.

The appearances were in conjunction with the Social Change Fund, a group started by Paul and fellow NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.

“As important as it is in this election, it’s important to vote every time you can, especially in the midterm elections,” Paul said during brief remarks made in front of about 15 onlookers. “Those are the elections that you get a chance to decide the people who do your state and local laws.

“Obviously everybody’s focused on the presidential election, but we’ve got to keep learning more and more so we can affect what happens in our local areas, in our neighborhood. So for me it’s important because I’m always trying to learn more and I want to teach and be able to give back to my kids.”

Paul, a Winston-Salem native and former Wake Forest star, said he is encouraged by how many young people he sees becoming involved in the voting process.

“I’ve been going to some of these colleges — I just came from Fayetteville State. I went to Winston-Salem State yesterday — and it’s really cool to see the young people getting engaged,” he said. “The only reason why I know about voting is I saw my parents vote. My kids now, they get a chance to see, and I think we can keep doing that and passing it on.”

Paul came to the Lumberton voting site to visit with representatives of You Can Vote, a statewide nonpartisan organization that is helping answer questions voters have about the process itself. The organization does not endorse or promote individual candidates. It has representatives at five voting sites in Robeson County.

“I got a call this morning,” said Sarah McLean, Lumberton site coordinator for You Can Vote. “He was in Fayetteville, and he was told about the nonpartisan organization, and that’s what he was wanting to target, see how things are going.”

Paul arrived on a bus that promotes Social Change Fund. After his remarks, he took some photos and signed a few autographs before getting back on the bus to depart.