Chris Paul has hinted that his Hall-of-Fame career will come to an end after 21 seasons.
In a video posted on social media ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers’ game against the Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina, Paul wrote that he is “GRATEFUL for this last one!!”
Paul was born in North Carolina and went to college in the state at Wake Forest. Saturday’s game marks the Clippers’ only visit to Charlotte this season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Paul intends to retire at the end of this season.
Paul indicated at the American Black Film Festival in July 2024 that he would only play “at the most” another year in the NBA.
“I just finished my 20th season, which is a blessing in itself. I’ve been in the NBA for more than half of my life, which is a blessing. But these years you do not get back with your kids, with your family,” said Paul.
Soon after those comments, Paul returned to the Clippers on a one-year deal to take a shot at winning a title with the franchise he previously spent six seasons with from 2011 to ’17.
Things haven’t gone as anyone with the Clippers planned so far this season. They enter play on Saturday with a 4-11 record. Paul is currently averaging 2.5 points and 3.3 assists per game in 10 appearances.
After a two-year run at Wake Forest, Paul was the No. 4 overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2005 NBA draft. His first season saw the team improve by 20 wins from the 2004-05 campaign (18 to 38) and earn him Rookie of the Year honors.
By year three with Paul, the Hornets won 56 games and were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. He finished second in MVP voting to Kobe Bryant in 2007-08.
That season kicked off a run in which Paul was an All-Star for nine consecutive years and was named to the All-NBA team eight times in nine years. He also finished top-seven in MVP voting six seven times from 2007-08 to 2015-16.
Paul was involved in one of the most infamous moments in NBA history during that period. The Hornets, who were owned by the league at that point, agreed to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team deal in December 2011.
However, then-commissioner David Stern vetoed the trade amid rumblings that other team owners were unhappy the Lakers would be adding the league’s best point guard to play with Bryant.
The league denied allegations the trade was denied because of input from other owners.
“It’s not true that the owners killed the deal,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said at the time. “The deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.”
A few days after the vetoed deal to the Lakers, Paul was sent to the Clippers. The franchise had its three best seasons by winning percentage and made the playoffs in each of his six years with them.
Paul was traded for the second time in his career in June 2017 to the Houston Rockets to play alongside James Harden.
The Rockets finished with the league’s best record (65-17) in 2017-18 and reached the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series that Paul missed the final two games due to a hamstring injury.
After another playoff loss to the Warriors the following year, Paul spent a season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019-20 when he was traded for Russell Westbrook.
Despite having modest expectations that season, Paul led the Thunder to the playoffs with a 44-28 record. He was traded again in the offseason when Oklahoma City decided to enter a full-scale rebuild.
Paul was dealt to the Phoenix Suns and immediately led them to the playoffs. They reached the NBA Finals in his first season, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, then won a franchise-record 64 games in 2021-22.
Following a disappointing 2022-23 season for the Suns, Paul was traded to the Golden State Warriors. He was used primarily off the bench for the first time in his career, starting just 18 of his 58 games played before he left as a free agent last summer.
The Spurs turned out to be Paul’s final stop in the NBA. He was still playing well enough to continue his career if he wanted to, averaging 7.4 assists and shooting 37.7 percent from three-point range in 82 games.
Paul ends his career as a 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection and nine-time All-Defensive team selection. He ranks second in NBA history in career assists and steals, trailing only John Stockton in both categories.
The only active player with more career games and minutes played than Paul is LeBron James.
There is no question that Paul will end up in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as soon as he becomes eligible as one of the best point guards in NBA history.
