Chris Paul’s Retirement: A Disappointing Act

The legendary point guard Chris Paul announced his retirement on Feb. 13 through social media — certainly not the sendoff many would have imagined for the 21-year veteran. Paul, who is second in the NBA all-time in both assists and steals, has had one of basketball’s most illustrious careers. In this article, I hope to underscore how influential and crucial Paul has been to basketball, highlighting not only his historic performances but also his shortcomings. 

Paul, drafted fourth overall from Wake Forest University in the 2005 draft, began his career with the New Orleans Hornets. Throughout his six-year career in New Orleans, Paul won Rookie of the Year, was a four-time all-star, made three all-NBA teams, and finished second in Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting in 2008. After Paul announced his disinterest in coming back to the Hornets once his contract expired, the organization began to look at different trades for the star player. In what was one of the biggest what-if moments in NBA history, Paul was nearly sent as part of a three-way deal to the Los Angeles Lakers to play alongside NBA legend Kobe Bryant. However, the Hornets were league-owned at the time, and the late commissioner David Stern vetoed the deal. Paul, though, would still end up in Los Angeles, just not with the Lakers. 

Instead, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011, forming a dynamic trio — “Lob City” — with forwards Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The three worked together to create an acrobatic team, with Paul finding Griffin and Jordan for any and all potential chances at the net. Paul was utterly dominant throughout his first five seasons with the Clippers, finishing in the top seven in MVP voting each year, making first- or second-team All-NBA every season, consistently making the All-Star Game, and even making first-team All-Defense five straight times. Despite these excellent seasons, Paul always came up short in the playoffs — sometimes because of unfortunate losses, and other times because of costly injuries. In his last season with the Clippers, Paul didn’t make any all-star or all-NBA teams, but still played well enough to earn first-team all-defense. The Lob City experiment ended in 2017, when Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets.

Paul wouldn’t earn any honors in his two seasons with the Rockets (2017-19), but continued to play at an elite level and helped his teammate James Harden win MVP in their first season together. The Rockets won 65 games, earning the first overall seed in the Western Conference in 2018, and made it all the way to the conference finals for the first time in Paul’s career. The Rockets went up 3-2 in a seven-game series against the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, and all looked well until Paul went down with a pulled hamstring. With Paul out for the next two games, the Rockets fell each time and lost to the Warriors. The Rockets would never reach that same level again, and Paul was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) in 2019 for guard Russell Westbrook after two seasons with Houston. 

Paul was once again an all-star and all-NBA player, as well as an MVP candidate in Oklahoma City. While Paul only stayed on the Thunder for a year, he greatly helped develop players such as future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After the Thunder, Paul went to the Phoenix Suns in 2020 to form a well-rounded team that would beat the defending champion Lakers in the playoffs and eventually punch its ticket to the 2021 NBA Finals — his first trip. Unfortunately, the Suns and Paul would fall to the Milwaukee Bucks and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in six games. After losing in the NBA Finals, the Suns bounced back the next season, earning the first overall seed in the Western Conference with 64 wins. Paul and the Suns wouldn’t go as far in 2023, though, losing against the Dallas Mavericks in the conference semifinals. Despite this, Paul still aspired to reach playoff success again the next season, joining the perennially contending Warriors and guard Steph Curry. 

Despite these playoff aspirations, Paul and the Warriors only made the 2024 play-in tournament, failing to make the official playoffs. Worse, Paul only played in 58 games that year, starting in only 18. Because of this, he left for the San Antonio Spurs the next season. There, Paul joined rising-star forward Victor Wembanyama, helping push the Spurs from one of the league’s worst teams to a competitive one. Paul played and started all 82 games that season — his first time doing so. While the Spurs didn’t make the playoffs in 2025, the team culture still improved greatly, as cited by Wembanyama and guard Stephon Castle. Perhaps in part because of this, the Spurs have been even more successful this year, attaining a 38-16 regular season record, the second-best in the Western Conference. Paul, though, didn’t get to bask in it, as he left to rejoin the Clippers at the beginning of the 2025-2026 season.

Paul made it clear that his return was going to be a retirement tour —  a homecoming and final sendoff for one of basketball’s greats. However, this final season was a nightmare for Paul. Clippers President Lawrence Frank made it clear that Paul was going to be a reserve, which Paul agreed to. And yet, as a vocal leader on all the teams he’s ever been a part of, Paul still planned on being a leader. As Paul took on his usual vocal role, this time on the bench, the coaching staff and some players took offense to his style. The Clippers organization thought Paul was too critical of players and began to bench him entirely throughout November. As tensions rose between the coaching staff and Paul, even after he returned to playing for the team, it was clear that Paul wasn’t going to stay on the team, given the organizational pushback. In a three-way trade on Feb. 4 this year, the Clippers sent Paul to the Toronto Raptors. Paul, however, didn’t check in with the team, and the Raptors decided to waive him. After that, Paul called it quits. 

Zooming out, Paul’s career is full of many “almost” moments. Being part of several successful teams — the Clippers, Rockets, and Suns — Paul has embodied a winning playstyle. At the same time, Paul has not been a stranger to individual success either: he was a 12-time All-Star, an 11-time All-NBA player, and a nine-time All-Defense player; he led the league in assists five times and steals six times, and made the illustrious NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Paul has rightly earned his eventual spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, but his sole NBA Finals appearance in 2021 and no MVP will not show the full extent of Paul’s winning career. Paul should be remembered for his impeccable ability to elevate teams to the next level — not for his playoff shortcomings, injuries, and especially not his fallout with the Clippers in his final season. A shameful end to a fantastic player.