Chris Paul, the “Point God” who was a 12-time All-Star selection and two-time Olympic gold medalist, announced his retirement on Friday in the capper of a 21-season career that surely will merit induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 40-year-old Paul made the announcement on the first day of the NBA's All-Star weekend at the home of the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, California. Paul spent his final season — an abbreviated one — with the Clippers, who sent him home in December and wound up trading him to Toronto earlier this month.
The Raptors knew Paul would never play in Toronto, and that begged the question about whether the Wake Forest great would try to finish the season with another team in pursuit of the thing he never got — an NBA title.
The answer came Friday. He's done. He said last summer that he has hated missing events with his children over the last few years, and now he can devote himself much more to his family and other interests.
“It's time for me to show up for others and in other ways,” Paul wrote on a social media post, announcing the decision.
He strongly hinted earlier this season that this year was going to be his last. Paul was a four-time All-NBA first team selection, and he ranks second in NBA history with 12,552 assists and 2,728 steals. He was the first player to score at least 20,000 points while recording at least 10,000 assists; LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have both since done that as well.
“It feels really good knowing that I played and treated this game with the utmost respect since the day my dad introduced me to it,” Paul wrote. “It was the very first relationship I ever knew.”
Paul played for New Orleans, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Golden State, San Antonio and the Clippers during his career, spending the last four years with four different teams.
He also was a past president of the National Basketball Players Association — instrumental in getting the league through the bubble season when the pandemic struck in 2020 — and championed the NBA establishing better ties with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“From the moment he entered the league, Chris distinguished himself with his savvy playmaking skills, elite competitiveness and intense work ethic,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, in which he called Paul “one of the greatest point guards in NBA history.”
Paul is 15th all-time in regular-season games played and 36th in points, was a six-time steals champion, five-time assists champion, a nine-time All-Defensive team pick, 11-time All-NBA selection and was part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
He’s one of six players in NBA history to have reached $400 million in career earnings.
“I’ve been playing basketball since I was 4 years old, and there’s nothing other than my family that brings me more joy than the hard work and all that stuff that goes into it,” he said in 2024. “Yeah, that’s why we get to play a child’s game and say it’s my way of life.”
Paul 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 — but it went bad quickly, and Paul's last game with the Clippers was Dec. 1.
It turned out to be his last NBA game, period.
“While this chapter of being an ‘NBA player’ is done, the game of basketball will forever be engrained in the DNA of my life, spanning three decades,” Paul wrote. “It’s crazy even saying that!! Playing basketball for a living has been an unbelievable blessing that also came with lost of responsibility. I embraced it all.”
Paul is one of seven players to have an NBA career span at least 21 seasons. And he's already in the Hall of Fame: the 2008 Olympic ‘Redeem Team’ was enshrined as part of the 2025 class. It won't be long before he goes in on his own as well.
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FILE - Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul celebrates after a score during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul reacts after dunking the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul drives to the basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — More than 24 hours before the first shot flew at a Final Four that really feels like a five-team affair, Arizona already had a win.
The Wildcats kept their coach from bolting to that fifth team — North Carolina.
Tommy Lloyd dropped the news of the contract extension that will keep him in Tucson through 2031 at Friday's news conference in advance of a titanic matchup against Michigan.
The meandering coaching search at one of the country's most storied programs has shared headlines with Saturday night's much-anticipated national semifinal that happens to feature two of Carolina's reported coaching targets.
"We’ve been able to get some things done the past couple days," Lloyd said.
Like Lloyd, Michigan coach Dusty May has spent most of this tournament batting down speculation that he might be the replacement for Hubert Davis, who was fired after the Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead in a loss to VCU in the first round of the tournament last month.
Not surprisingly, May was asked about it again the day before the big game.
“Yeah, I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go and then I’ll comment on every job,” he said.
It's no big surprise that these two coaches are among the hottest commodities in hoops. Just look at the teams they brought to Indy.
There are no fewer than nine potential NBA stars sprinkled across the two rosters, which is why the winner of this, the second of Saturday night's semifinals, will almost certainly be a favorite against the UConn-Illinois winner in the undercard.
“It's the Final Four for a reason. It's the best teams, the best four," Arizona freshman Brayden Burries said. "UConn, Illinois, they're great teams. If we do win Saturday, we know we have a great shot at it. But no, we're not thinking about that now.”
Depending on which mock draft you check, Arizona's top NBA pick will either be Koa Peat (14 points, 5.5 rebounds) or Burries, a 16-point-a-game, McDonalds All-American who is shooting 68% from 3 over the tournament.
It's a striking stat for a team that attempted the third-lowest percentage of 3s in the country, if only because of all the tall, lanky talent it has across the court.
“We're doubling down on what we're good at, and we're believing in Coach Lloyd," said Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, a senior who has spent three years in Tucson after transferring from Alabama. “I like to get in the paint and get fouled. And when teams take that away, we're capable from 3 and we can knock those down, as well.”
Michigan is a 1 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, in a matchup of the top two teams in the KenPom rankings.
Michigan's best — but hardly its only — NBA prospect is Yaxel Lendeborg, who has scored 25, 23 and 27 in three straight blowout wins in the tournament.
Lendeborg came to Michigan last offseason from UAB. He was part of a quick rebuild, the likes of which are made possible in the era of the rapid-fire transfer portal. The architect is May, who himself arrived in Ann Arbor two seasons ago, just a year removed from a Final Four appearance with Florida A&M.
Michigan's four top scorers — Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara and Elliot Cadeau — played at different colleges last season.
May conceded to feeling some relief now that the transfer portal is considered a legit way to build a roster. Gone are the days of spending hundreds of hours recruiting high schoolers, only to learn that they've chosen someplace else.
“When I say we’re saving time, we don’t waste time with all the other things,” May said. “We still have to do our research. We still have the intel. We still have to spend an inordinate amount of time. We just don’t have to spend it the way we used to.”
As this Final Four is showing, it's not just the players whose every move is under a microscope.
“I didn’t want to make this entire Final Four about that because I’m just a small part of something much bigger,” Lloyd said of his contract extension. “But on that same note, I’d also like to let you know that North Carolina is an amazing place. I mean, it’s a one of one. It’s an honor to even be considered for that job.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Arizona guard Brayden Burries smiles after a win over Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)
Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg passes during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Michigan head coach Dusty May watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against against Michigan at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
