Chris Paul, who played for the Phoenix Suns from 2020-23 and led them to the 2021 NBA Finals, announced his retirement Friday after he was waived by the Toronto Raptors.
The 40-year-old Paul was playing for the Los Angeles Clippers this season, his 21st in the NBA, and he strongly hinted in November that it would be his last.
He was sent home by the Clippers in December and saw his contract get included in a three-team deadline deal in February that also included the Brooklyn Nets.
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The 12-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist has earned four All-NBA first team selections, and he ranks second in NBA history with 12,552 assists. He was the first player to score at least 20,000 points while recording at least 10,000 assists.
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He became arguably the most accomplished player in Clippers franchise history while leading the team to six winning seasons from 2011-17, including the Clippers’ first two Pacific Division titles and three playoff series victories. Paul returned to Los Angeles as a free agent last July, rejoining a franchise where he is loved by fans while having an outside chance to contend for his first championship alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
Paul hasn’t spoken to reporters since he strongly hinted at retirement while the Clippers were back in his native North Carolina. But he acknowledged a video retrospective of his career played by the Clippers during a timeout at Intuit Dome last week. The video ended with “Congratulations, Point God” on the screen.
Paul couldn’t really be blamed for the Clippers’ profound struggles this season because he hadn’t played much.
He averaged 2.6 points and 3.3 assists while playing just 14.3 minutes per game — all career lows — and he didn’t play at all in five straight games in mid-November.
Paul had eight points and three assists while playing 15 minutes against the Heat in what turned out to be his final game with the team — a game in which Harden and other starters were effectively benched, in the latest sign of discord for coach Tyronn Lue’s team.
The Clippers are on a five-game skid, and they’re tied with Sacramento for the second-worst record in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday’s games. Leonard has been limited to 10 games by injuries, and they’ve already lost guard Bradley Beal to season-ending hip surgery.
The Clippers’ streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons is the longest active streak in the NBA, but owner Steve Ballmer’s club has yet to show signs of contention this season — and now they’re going forward without a historically talented point guard and franchise favorite.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/CME2Ixf
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