Chris Paul lived a lot of lives in the NBA

Chris Paul officially announced that he is going to be retiring at the end of the season. After 21 seasons in the league, CP3 is leaving the game as one of the greatest point guards to ever play. From the Hornets, to the Clippers, Rockets, Thunder, Suns, Warriors, Spurs and back to the Clippers, the Point God has lived a lot of lives in the NBA. 

Let’s start with this season. Paul is playing for the Clippers, where he spent 6 seasons of his career before this year. When I think of Chris Paul I think of the Clippers first. He spent his best years as a Hornet but I’ll remember him for the Lob City years, more on that later. The play is not great, he is averaging career lows in minutes, points, rebounds, steals and assists. He is shooting 31% from the field, father time catches up to everyone and it has caught up to Paul now. However, when Paul was great, he was great.

Chris Paul won rookie of the year in 2006 and had a great year in 2007 as well. However, the Hornets really clicked in 2007-08 when Paul had maybe the best season of his career as New Orleans won 56 games. He was so good, averaging 21.1 points, 11.6 assists (a career high) and 2.7 steals, playing in 80 games. That was his best chance at an MVP, Kobe Bryant won the award but there was a real argument for Paul, who finished in 2nd place. That was also the best team that the Hornets had during the CP3 era. They went to a game 7 with the Spurs and even had a 3-2 in the series before it slipped away. 2008-09 was the highest points per game as he averaged 22.8, along with 11.0 assists and a career high 2.8 steals per game. He finished 5th in MVP that season and the Hornets were a swift first round exit against the Denver Nuggets. Paul only spent 2 more years with the Hornets and was traded to the Clippers after the 2011 lockout.

We have to address why Paul was not traded to the Lakers. No, the NBA cannot overturn trades but the league owned the Hornets at the time of the trade so when the deal was agreed too a couple of other teams had the NBA veto the trade because they owned the team. It was probably a better package than what the Hornets got from the Clippers. The Hornets would have received Lamar Odem, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and a 2012 first round pick in a 3-team deal that sent Pau Gasol to the Rockets. Martin ended up being traded for James Harden in October 2012 so I am sure the Rockets are happy the trade fell through. That package is better than the Clippers package that New Orleans got, which was Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman and the Timberwolves 2012 first round pick that became Austin Rivers. It is a big sliding doors moment in NBA history that is wild to think about.

In Paul’s first season as a Clippers, L.A. won a playoff series, beating the Grind-City Grizzlies in 7 games, a series they had to win a game 7 on the road so they didn’t blow a 3-1 lead. They then got swept by the Spurs in the 2nd round. That season was the highest points per game of Paul’s Clippers career at 19.6 points per game. The next season, the Clippers won 56 games but played the 56-win Grizzlies in the first round because there were so many teams that won 50+ games in the west for the 2012-13 season. They lost that series in 6 games. The first best shot Paul and the Clippers had at winning a championship was during the 2013-14 season.

There were 2 best chances the Lob City Clippers had at winning the title during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. Let’s start with the 2014 playoffs. Where the whole Donald Sterling saga was happening and Paul did a great job at leading the Clippers through that. He deserves a lot of credit for that. The Clippers won their first round series against the Warriors in 7 games before taking on the Thunder in the 2nd round. After the two teams split the first 4 games of the series, the Clippers had a lead in game 5. After seeing their 15 point lead slip away, Los Angeles hit a three to make the lead 7. That is when Chris Paul choked the game away. First, after a Kevin Durant three, Paul turned the ball over, which led to an OKC run out and 2 points for the Thunder. Then, Paul fouled Russell Westbrook on a three point shot and Russ made all three free throws to give the Thunder a 1-point lead. Then on the Clippers final possession, Paul had the ball and turned it over and the Clippers lost the game. The last turnover is not as bad as the other 2 plays but to make those three plays that late in the game is probably the worst moment of Paul’s career. The Clippers would go on to lose to the Thunder in game 6. OKC lost to the Spurs so the Clippers also would have likely lost to the Spurs but still that one hurts badly.

The next year the Clippers went 56-26 and got the 3rd seed in the Western Conference and because of a weird standings quirk, they took on the 55-win Spurs. Paul had a good season averaging 19.1 points, 10.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. LA’s first round series against the Spurs was one of the greatest in NBA history. In an epic series, with an epic game 7 and an epic shot to end the series, the Spurs-Clippers 2015 first round series will be remembered. Down 2-1 and 3-2 on the road, the Clippers won both those games and got a game 7 at home (a game 5 loss was sandwiched in between the wins). With the game tied at 109, Paul hit one of the craziest game winners you will see to get the Clippers to round 2. When round 2 got started, the Clippers got off to an awesome start, stealing game 1 on the road before blowing the doors off of the Rockets in games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles. The Clippers were looking good up 3-1 and after losing game 5 in Houston, were looking good at home in game 6. They were up 89-73 with 1 just over a minute to go in the third quarter, then the game flipped. Josh Smith scored 15 points with 3 threes and Corey Brewer had 14 points with 2 threes and the Rockets flipped the game by 29 points, outsourcing the Clippers 47-18 over the last 13:16 in the game. Paul had 9 of the 18 Clipper points in the stretch so it wasn’t on him but he was the best player on the team so he needs to take some blame. In game 7, the Rockets beat the Clippers by double digits and the season ended for Los Angeles as another title chance slipped away. Similarly to the Spurs, I don’t think that the Clippers would have beaten the 67-win Warriors but they had beaten them the year before and the Warriors went down 2-1 twice during the 2015 playoffs so it was not impossible.

The 2016 playoffs ended for the Clippers when Paul and Blake Griffin were lost in their first round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. In 2017, the Clippers took on the Utah Jazz in the first round, where they would lose in 7 games. Griffin was lost in game 3 of that series and missed the remaining 4 games. Even with that, the Clippers had a game 7 at him to close out Utah and they did not as the Jazz knocked them out of the playoffs. That summer, Paul was set to hit free agency. It seemed as if the Lob City days in L.A. were coming to an end. Instead of going to free agency, Paul opted into the final year of his contract to facilitate a trade to the Houston Rockets. In exchange the Clippers got Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Sam Dekker a 2018 first round pick and 3 other players who never played for the Clippers. The Lob City days were over but boy were they special.

While their seasons never ended with a championship, or a trip to the Finals, or even a trip to the conference finals. The Lob City Clippers changed the way the Clippers are viewed around the NBA and Paul is the main reason for that. He turned L.A.’s little brother into a destination, into a franchise that people took seriously. No it has not translated into any big success yet but the Clippers are relevant, which is more than what could be said before they got Paul.

While it was not the farthest Paul ever made it in the playoffs, I think the 2017-18 Rockets were the best team CP3 ever played for and James Harden was the best teammate he ever had. Paul had a typical Chris Paul season for the time, he averaged 18.7 points, 7.9 assists (the lowest since his rookie season) and 1.7 steals per game. Houston was so good. They won 65 regular season games, had a net rating of 8.4 (the best mark in the NBA for that season) and Harden won the MVP. In the playoffs, Houston took on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round and took them out in 5 games. In round 2, the Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 4-1 as Paul advanced to the first Western Conference Finals of his career. Then in the Conference Finals, the Rockets took on the Golden State Warriors. Houston was built specifically to beat Golden State, and they gave them a real run for their money. After losing game 1 at home, the Rockets bounced back and tied the series at one. As the series shifted to Oakland, the Rockets got the doors blown off them in game 3 losing by 41. However, the Rockets battled back, winning game 4 in Oracle Arena and game 5 back home to take a 3-2 lead. In that game 5, however, Paul pulled his hamstring and missed the remainder of the series. After losing game 6, the Rockets would miss 27 straight threes in game 7, losing the game by 9 points and losing the series.

The 2018-19 season was bumpy to say the least for the Rockets. They signed Paul’s close friend Carmelo Anthony but it only lasted 10 games before he was sent home. Paul and Harden also hit a rocky point (not because of Anthony). A December 8th loss to the Mavericks led to Houston falling to 11-14. They would end the season 42-15, finishing the season 53-28, 4th in the Western Conference. Knocking out the Jazz in 5 games again and facing the Warriors, this time in the 2nd round. After losing the first 2 games in Oakland, the Rockets would battle back and win games 3 and 4 in Houston. The Rockets would lose game 5 but Kevin Durant suffered a calf strain and was out for the rest of the series. The Rockets had their chance but 33 second half points from Stephen Curry (after a goose egg in the first half) ended any hopes the Rockets had and their season ended once again.

That summer, the Rockets ended the Paul marriage, sending Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with 2 first round picks and 2 pick swaps for Russell Westbrook. It turned into a really bad trade for the Rockets, who dumped Westbrook the next offseason for John Wall and a protected first round pick. The 2019-20 Thunder were a ton of fun with their three guard look of Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder leading the charge with Danilo Gallinari, Steven Adams and Lu Dort helping out along the way as well. Paul rebuilt his trade value during that season. He made his first All-Star team since 2016 and led the Thunder to the 5th seed in the bubble playoffs, where they took on the Houston Rockets. It was a really fun series that went the distance. A rookie Lu Dort scored 30 points in game 7 but it was not enough as the Rockets survived and won the series. That offseason led to another Paul trade and the deepest playoff run he ever had.

In November of 2020, the Thunder traded Paul to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Jalen Lecque (who could forget Jalen Lecque) and a 2022 first round pick. The Suns were really good, winning 51 games in the shortened 72 game season (a 58 game win pace) which was 2nd in the Western Conference. Yes, they played teams who all had a massive injury, the Lakers lost Anthony Davis, the Nuggets lost Jamal Murray and the Clippers lost Kawhi Leonard but that doesn’t take away from what the Suns did in 2021. They took out the Lakers in 6, the Nuggets in a sweep (shoutout Suns in 4 guy) and the Clippers in 6. Paul had 37 points and 7 assists to close out the Nuggets and 41 points and 8 assists to close out the Clippers. I think he was the best player on that team, no offense to Devin Booker. Then the Finals started where the Suns took on the Milwaukee Bucks. The Suns won game 1 and then they won game 2. With a 2-0 Phoenix lead, the series headed back to Milwaukee where the series flipped. The Bucks won game 3, then one of the most incredible blocks you will see from Giannis Antetokounmpo sealed game 4, before a Jrue Holiday steal and Antetokounmpo dunk gave the Bucks the road win they needed in game 5 and finally a 50 piece in game 6 from the Greek Freak sealed the Finals for the Bucks. The Suns were 2 wins away from the title and saw it slip away, losing 4 in a row. A devastating end to a very successful season in Phoenix.

The 2021-22 season saw the Suns win 64 games with the best record in the NBA and the number 1 seed in the Western Conference. They beat the Pelicans in the first round and do we really need to address what happened in round 2? They played the Mavericks and took a 2-0 lead and a 3-2 lead before the infamous game 7 that I won’t bring up out of respect for the Point God. The 2022-23 season saw the Suns trade for Kevin Durant, weird to think that he and Paul overlapped as teammates for half a season. The Suns had an up and down season, winning 45 games, which 4th in the west (crazy to think there was ever a season where 45 wins would be 4th in the west). In the first round the Suns took out the Clippers, who were missing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, in 5 games before the eventual champion Nuggets would take them out in 6. That summer ended Paul’s three year tenure in Phoenix.

The Chris Paul Suns era may very well be forgotten into history but it was the team's most successful period since they had Charles Barkley. Never did the 7 seconds or less Suns led by Steve Nash go to the Finals. It is really hard to get to the Finals and the Paul and Devin Booker led Suns did just that. For the price they gave up the Chris Paul trade was a grand slam for the Suns. They gave up next to nothing and headed to the Finals with Paul. There were a lot of moves the Suns made that wound up being mistakes but that was not one of them.

The Suns would trade Paul to the Wizards as a part of the Bradley Beal trade (one of those mistakes Phoenix made) before Washington flipped Paul to the Warriors for Jordan Poole and a 2030 top 20 protected first round pick. Ryan Rollins was also in this trade (along with Patrick Bladwin) which is crazy because he is good but he was a throw-in, who the Wizards ended up waiving. Paul in a Warriors jersey was weird but his year was forgettable and it will become a ‘that’s weird to look at’ guy in a uniform. He spent last season with the Spurs, another guy in a weird jersey stop, but he played in and started all 82 games which is crazy considering he was 39-years-old doing it. As previously mentioned he is spending his last season back with the Clippers.

At the peak of his powers, Chris Paul was one of the 5 best players in the NBA. Even if that wasn’t the case for his whole career, the accolades speak for themself. A 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, 9-time all defensive team, 2005-06 Rookie of the Year, 2nd in the MVP race in 2007-08 and many others, Paul has one of the most decorated careers in NBA history. No, he doesn’t have the ring but that is okay. A lot of players don’t win championships and that doesn’t take away from Paul’s storied career. Even though Paul was always in control of everything during the game (he is one of the greatest clutch players ever), there are a lot of things that are out of your control when it comes to winning a championship. Chris Paul is one of the 50 best players in NBA history and should be celebrated after he leaves the game because of it. Happy trails to CP3.