Chris Paul confirmed retirement from the NBA on Friday, ending a 21-year professional career as the league prepares for All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. The 12-time All-Star, widely known as The Point God, steps away with a reputation as one of the most influential point guards of the modern era.
Across 1,370 career games, Paul averaged 16.8 points and 9.2 assists, while posting a 4.04 assist-to-turnover ratio. Paul earned 11 All-NBA selections, led the league in assists five times, and topped the steals charts six times, achievements that place Paul among the standout guards of the 2000s, 2010s and early 2020s.
Paul is expected to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame once eligible, with that status strengthened by consistent elite
play over two decades. Paul will also carry the long-discussed label of being one of the finest players never to secure an NBA championship, despite several deep playoff runs with different teams.
The retirement news arrived through social media, where Paul wrote: "This is it! After 21 years I'm stepping away from basketball. It's time for me to show up for others and in other ways. " The announcement coincides with All-Star events hosted by the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome for the first time.
The New Orleans Hornets drafted Paul fourth overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, and Paul immediately made an impact by winning Rookie of the Year. After six seasons, a proposed trade that would have paired Paul with Kobe Bryant at the Los Angeles Lakers was vetoed by the NBA, altering the trajectory of both franchises involved.
Instead, Paul joined the Los Angeles Clippers, forming the Lob City era with Blake Griffin from 2011 to 2017. Those Clippers sides became regular playoff entrants and crowd favourites, yet repeatedly fell short of the Western Conference finals. Paul later moved to the Houston Rockets, partnering James Harden in another strong but ultimately incomplete title chase.
Houston reached the 2018 Western Conference finals, where the Rockets pushed the Golden State Warriors to a decisive Game 7 before exiting. Paul finally reached the NBA Finals in 2021 with the Phoenix Suns, losing in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks. That series remained Paul’s only appearance on the league’s biggest stage.
Chris Paul retirement and Clippers farewell
Paul returned to the Clippers for the current season, beginning a second spell in Los Angeles that was expected to support a veteran roster. The arrangement ended in December, when the team sent Paul home. Earlier this month, the Clippers traded Paul’s contract to the Toronto Raptors, with many observers expecting a buyout and one last title pursuit.
Instead of another move, Paul’s career appears set to receive a league-wide tribute during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, fitting the scale of a guard viewed as one of the NBA’s key figures over two decades. The retirement closes a career defined by control, leadership and consistent excellence at the point guard position.
