The NBA may look different after next season. All-time great point guard Chris Paul has hinted in a recent interview about potentially retiring after next season. If next year is his last, it will have been a fantastic career. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of CP3’s best moments of his career!
Early NBA Life
Chris Paul was drafted in the 2005 NBA Draft out of Wake Forest by the New Orleans Hornets, before they were the Pelicans. Paul would be selected behind Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams, and Deron Williams. Before he joined the team, the Hornets had a 22% winning percentage. While he was on the team, that percentage increased to 46.3%. Talk about a jump. CP3 would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award, averaging 16.1 ppg and 7.8 apg.
Two years later, at the age of 22, Paul would make his first All-Star appearance, finish second in MVP voting, make the first team All-NBA team, and lead the league in assists (11.6) and steals (2.7). CP3 would also lead the Hornets to a franchise-best 56 wins that season. However, the team would fall short in the playoffs, losing 4-3 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Fork In the Road
In 2011, the All-Star point guard informed the Hornets that he did not intend to sign a contract extension and requested a trade. In what may have been one of the biggest “what-ifs” in NBA history, the Hornets and Lakers agreed to a trade that would send Chris Paul (CP3) to the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, and draft picks to the Hornets. NBA Commissioner David Stern would go on to veto that trade, becoming the roadblock that prevented a pairing between Paul and the late Kobe Bryant.
CP3 would ultimately be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ unprotected first-round pick. The Clippers would also receive two second-round picks. This would pair one of the best point guards in the league with one of the best young players in the NBA in Blake Griffin.
Paul would average a career high of 19.8 ppg in his first season in LA and make the all-star team in his first five seasons there. The Clippers had a 39% winning percentage before CP and a 60.6% with him, including a franchise high 57-win season and giving his run in LA the classic nickname “Lob-City.”
The Sun Sets in LA
As all things must come to an end, CP3’s time in Los Angeles would come to an end. After facing untimely injuries and playoff defeats, the Clippers traded Paul to the Rockets for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, and a 2018 first-round pick. That is a haul for Paul at the time, who was turning 32. However, that trade would lead to one of the most electric backcourts in NBA history between him and James Harden.
Dominance in H-Town
To touch back on his impact on winning, Houston had an excellent 67%-win percentage before CP3, and he helped them achieve a 79.3%-win percentage while he was there. Paul would also be a part of another team’s franchise records for wins in a season, 65 in his first season in H-Town.
When Kevin Durant went to the Warriors and started their dynasty, Paul and Harden’s Rockets were the only team to push them to the brink. In the 2018 Western Conference Finals, Houston would go up 3-2 against Golden State. However, CP3 was unable to play in Games 6 and 7 due to a hamstring injury he suffered at the end of Game 5.
The Rockets would go on to lose that series in Game 7 and face those same Warriors the following season, this time without KD. Even in the absence of one of the best, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson would combine for 60 points, as Houston would lose the series in six games.
Pit Stop
After just two seasons in Houston, CP3 would be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook. OKC would also receive two first-round picks and two future pick swaps as well. Despite spending only one season there, he would raise the team’s winning percentage from 59.8% to 61.1%, as the young Thunder would lose in the first round that year to the Houston Rockets. Ironic.
One Last Climb
After spending a year in OKC, the Thunder would trade him to the Phoenix Suns for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 first-round pick. His impact would be immediate, as he was one of the key reasons the Suns’ winning percentage would increase from 46.6% to 72%. The Suns would make it to the NBA Finals in 2021 for the first time since 1993. After going up 2-0 in the Finals, Phoenix would lose the next four games to the victorious Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Two years later, CP3 would be the orchestrator of the franchise’s win record for a season with 64. However, the Suns would blow a 2-0 series lead to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, losing in seven. Then Paul would bounce to the Warriors for a season, then spent last season with the San Antonio Spurs, where he played all 82 games.
Final Thoughts
For someone with such an illustrious career, it is disheartening to see that he only made the NBA Finals once. Who knows? He may sign with a contender and make one more push towards NBA’s mountaintop. It would be a shame to see an all-time great player retire without winning a championship. If it is his last season and he retires without a ring, thank you for all the memories, from the alley-oops with Lob City to the battles with the Warriors.
As always, thank you so much for checking out my recap and thoughts on Chris Paul’s career! Be sure to check out our other amazing content here at New Leaf News! We hope you’re enjoying your day, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.
