Chris Paul declared on Friday that he is officially retiring from the NBA, effective immediately. The 40-year-old point guard released a statement saying “this is it!” after being waived by the Toronto Raptors.
This is it! After over 21 years I’m stepping away from basketball. As I write this, it’s hard to really know what to feel, but for once — most people would be surprised — I don’t have the answer lol! But, mostly I’m filled with so much joy and gratitude! While this chapter of being an “NBA player” is done, the game of basketball will forever be engrained in the DNA of my life. I’ve been in the NBA for more than half of my life, spanning three decades. It’s crazy even saying that!! Playing basketball for a living has been an unbelievable blessing that also came with lots of responsibility. I embraced it all. The good and the bad. As a lifelong learner, leadership is hard and is not for the weak. Some will like you and many people won’t. Bu the goal was always the goal, and my intentions were always sincere (Damn, I love competing!!).
Paul’s Hall of Fame career did not come to a storybook ending in his 21st season in the NBA. After returning to the Los Angeles Clippers this offseason, Paul declared this would be his final season in the NBA, but the team parted ways with Paul less than two months into the season amid reports of internal frustration with the veteran. Paul was then traded to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal as part of a salary dump, with Toronto never requiring the legendary point guard to report to the team before officially waiving him on Friday.
Rather than seek an eighth team to play for to close out his illustrious career, the 40-year-old opted to call it on a disappointing season that ends an otherwise spectacular career on a bit of a sour note. Paul hoped he could return to the Clippers organization he helped build into a perennial playoff threat and be part of another contending squad, but instead found himself clashing with the current leadership in the L.A. locker room.
Chris Paul will retire without a ring — but his career proves he was one of the NBA’s greatest winners
Sam Quinn
Despite that disappointing ending, Paul will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and will go down as one of the greatest point guards to ever play in the NBA. Over his 21-year career, Paul scored 23,058 points, dished out 12,552 assists, pulled down 6,006 rebounds and created 2,728 steals in 1,370 games played. That productivity puts him all over the NBA’s all-time record books, as he’s second in all-time assists, second in steals, 16th in games played and 41st in points.
He finishes his career selected to 12 All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams and nine All-Defense teams. While he never captured the ever-elusive NBA championship, teams always took a step forward after acquiring the Point God, and he reached the postseason 15 times with five different teams in his career.
