Chris Paul has officially bid farewell to professional basketball, announcing his retirement after 21 years in the NBA.
In an Instagram post on Saturday (November 22), while celebrating his North Carolina homecoming for a Los Angeles Clippers versus Charlotte Hornets game, the point guard posted a montage of his time in the league. The video included a clip of Paul being drafted by the Hornets as the fourth overall pick in 2005.
"Back in NC!!! What a ride…Still so much left…GRATEFUL for this last one!! 🤞🏾" Paul captioned the post.
NBA insider, Shams Charania, also confirmed the news. Taking to X, he wrote: "Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul is retiring after this season – his 21st campaign in the NBA. Paul is a 12-time All-Star, an 11-time member of All-NBA teams, a selection to the 75 greatest players list, nine-time All-Defense and the 2006 Rookie of the Year."
The announcement comes months after the athlete signed a one-year deal with the Clippers for $3.6 million. In October, Paul spoke to Andscape about his decision with the contract.
"I think about my family. And I’m not just saying my immediate family. I got a lot of cousins and family members who live back home in North Carolina that I don’t get to see," he told the outlet. "The thing I always constantly think about is time. That’s the thing you can’t get back."
The athlete added that he's been "blessed and fortunate" to have sustained a long career in the NBA. "I’ve made a great living for me and my family," Paul said.
Paul, who returned to the Clippers over a decade after first playing for the team, is a 12-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
In August, Paul laughed off former president Barack Obama’s claim that he once crossed him over.
In a recent clip from the Obama Foundation and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, Obama was asked to share one moment he would relive from his time in the White House.
"For my 49th birthday, I organized my own little NBA All-Star game," Obama explained. "LeBron [James] came and [Dwyane] Wade, Derrick Rose, and Chris Paul. And so we had three pros and two amateurs on each team. I hit a game winner, man. I hit a three, I crossed over Chris."
Paul caught wind of the reel and responded in the comment section, writing: "If you don’t have the film…it never happened!!"