After 21 seasons, countless clutch moments, and a legacy that reshaped the point guard position, Chris Paul is officially calling it a career.
The Los Angeles Clippers veteran, widely regarded as one of the greatest floor generals the game has ever seen, announced on Saturday morning that the 2025–26 NBA season will be his last.
Paul shared the news on X alongside a heartfelt montage of photos from his childhood, early basketball days, and career-defining highlights that reminded fans just how long and how brightly he has shined.
Back in NC!!! What a ride…Still so much left…GRATEFUL for this last one!! 🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/1ZaJSqsWRD
— Chris Paul (@CP3) November 22, 2025
“Back in NC!!! What a ride… Still so much left… GRATEFUL for this last one!!” he wrote, just hours before stepping onto the court in Charlotte, his home state, to face the Hornets.
For basketball fans, and for North Carolina, the timing felt poetic. The kid who once dominated Wake Forest University as a Demon Deacon, who became a hometown hero long before he became an NBA superstar, chose to mark the beginning of his farewell tour right where it all started.
Paul entered the league in 2005 as the No. 4 overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets. Even then, the expectations were sky-high — and he still managed to exceed every one of them.
The video he posted included that vintage draft-night audio:
“With the fourth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets select… Chris Paul from Wake Forest University.”
Across two decades, what followed was a career defined by precision, leadership, fierce competitiveness, and a basketball IQ few point guards have ever matched.
Paul became a 12-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team selection, a six-time steals leader, and one of the greatest assist maestros the league has ever seen, all while cementing himself as a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
His influence stretched far beyond box scores and awards. Paul redefined the modern point guard, a master of pace, angles, midrange artistry, and control. For an entire generation of players, “play like CP3” became a blueprint.
