12-Time NBA All-Star Point Guard Announces His Retirement
On February 5th, Los Angeles Clippers future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul was traded to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team trade involving the Brooklyn Nets. Back in December, the Clippers planned to part ways with ‘CP3’ and sent him home as the 12-time all-star, and head coach Ty Lue clashed over differing styles and were not speaking to each other at the time. Nearly a week later, it was announced by Shams Charania that the Raptors are waiving the 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year and that Paul is now officially retiring after 21 seasons in the league. Now, the only member left of the Banana Boat Crew is Los Angeles Lakers future Hall of Fame forward LeBron James, who’s been hinting at his own retirement through social media posts.
After showcasing his skills at Wake Forest, the New Orleans Hornets drafted Paul with the fourth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. He finished his rookie season leading all rookies in total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and double-doubles, becoming just the second rookie in NBA history to lead the league in total steals. ‘CP3’ became the 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year, and a year later, he was selected to his first all-star team, his first of 12. During his time in New Orleans from 2006 to 2011, the 12-time all-star grew to be one of the best point guards in the league. Yet, the Hornets made the playoffs three times in that span, making it as far as the Western Conference Semifinals in the 07-08 season. In the other two appearances, New Orleans was eliminated in the first round.
On December 8th, 2011, the Hornets traded Paul in a three-team trade, sending him to the Lakers, which NBA commissioner David Stern infamously declined. Two days later, the 2006 Rookie of the Year was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Surrounded by the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Blake Griffin and powerhouse big man DeAndre Jordan, the trio was infamously dubbed ‘Lob City’. With the Clippers, Paul saw five straight playoff appearances, yet there was only one problem: Los Angeles never made an NBA Finals appearance, or even a Western Conference Finals during that span. The Clippers were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals three out of those five times; the other two times, Los Angeles fell short in the first round.
While ‘CP3’ saw many memorable moments in L.A., such as being the 2013 NBA All-Star Game MVP, the future Hall of Fame point guard wanted to try to chase his first NBA Championship before his career came to a close. He was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for seven players, a first-round draft pick, and cash considerations on June 28th, 2017. In Houston, the 12-time all-star made his first Western Conference Finals appearance during the 2018 NBA Playoffs alongside MVP James Harden, but during Game Seven of the most important game of his career at that time, Paul missed due to injury, leading to the Rockets falling short and being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors. After another Western Conference Semifinals elimination in 2017 and 2019, Houston knew their experiment with the 2006 Rookie of the Year wasn’t going to get them a championship.
The Rockets decided to trade Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City was a team at the time with a ton of young players, and with Westbrook gone, many thought the team was going to go through a rebuild and had no chance of being a playoff-caliber team. Many thought Paul’s play was going to go into a swift decline. Yet, with the leadership of the 12-time all-star point guard, Paul, and a young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the playoffs. In the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, the 2006 Rookie of the Year and Gilgeous-Alexander faced the Rockets that had the old OKC duo of Westbrook and Harden. Paul forced a Game Seven by scoring 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter; however, the Thunder would fall short in that Game Seven.
OKC traded Paul to the Phoenix Suns in November 2020. This placed the 12-time all-star with rising all-star Devin Booker and the first pick of the 2021 NBA Draft Deandre Ayton. It would be with Phoenix where the 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year finally made his first NBA Finals appearance. The Suns faced Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Although Phoenix won the first two games of the series, Milwaukee won four straight, defeating the Suns in six games. The following season, Paul signed a massive four-year extension with the team, and the 2021-2022 Suns made franchise history by winning 64 games. They eventually fell short in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling seven-game series.
In June 2023, the Suns traded Paul to the Golden State Warriors, and surprisingly, with the tandem of ‘CP3’ and Stephen Curry, the team did not make the playoffs. At the end of the season, the Warriors waived Paul, and he signed with the San Antonio Spurs. Paired with the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama, Paul again used his veteran leadership to help grow another franchise. San Antonio went from 22 wins the season before to 38. Although they weren’t a playoff team, Wembanyama’s play grew with the help of a veteran 12-time all-star point guard like Paul. That season, ‘CP3’ became the first player in NBA history to accumulate 23,000 points with at least 12,000 assists. He then signed with the Clippers, where his career unraveled into his retirement months down the road.
‘CP3’ is undoubtedly a future NBA Hall of Famer. He’s second in NBA history with 12,552 assists and 2,728 steals, behind John Stockton. He’s had a legendary career playing with other future Hall of Fame-caliber players. The 12-time all-star will enjoy his retirement, and hopefully, we'll see another ‘Cliff’ and Chris Paul StateFarm commerical again.
