Chris Paul Announces Retirement After 21 Seasons in the NBA: ‘What a Ride’

Chris Paul is leaving it all on the court this season.

The 40-year-old basketball star, who also goes by nicknames “CP3” and “the Point God,” announced on Nov. 22 that he will be retiring from the NBA after he finishes his current season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“What a ride,” Paul wrote on social media, alongside a video recap of his 21 seasons in the league. “Still so much left…GRATEFUL for this last one!!”

Previously, in July, the 12-time All-Star hinted that his career was nearing its end when he revealed at the American Black Film Festival that he could only see himself playing professionally for another year “at the most.”

“I just finished my 20th season, which is a blessing in itself,” Paul explained at the time. “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.”

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The hall of famer — who is the NBA’s active leader in assists and steals and joins LeBron James in being the only players in NBA history to reach both the 20,000 career points and 10,000 career assists milestones — began his career when he was drafted by the then-New Orleans Hornets in 2005. He stayed with the team for six years.

In 2011, Paul was involved in a famed vetoed trade between the Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team deal. And although it was rumored that then-commissioner David Stern denied the trade out of concern that other team owners object to the league’s best point guard playing alongside Kobe Bryant, the league denied that was the case.

“It’s not true that the owners killed the deal,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said at the time, per ESPN. “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, Paul landed with the Clippers and ultimately birthed the “Lob City” era of success alongside teammates Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The franchise made the playoffs in each of the six years Paul spent on the team.

In June 2019, Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he stayed for two years, and then to Oklahoma City for a season, where he led the Thunders to the playoffs with a 44-28 record.

Paul was then traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2020, where he made his only appearance in the NBA Finals during a 2021 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. After spending a few seasons with the Warriors and one with the San Antonio Spurs, Paul ultimately reunited with the Clippers in the offseason and has appeared in 10 games this season.