Chris Paul, central to one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, finds himself at a crossroads. As he nears his 40th birthday on May 6th, he is weighing what to do next. In the 2005 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets drafted the 6’0 Paul fourth overall. He’s carved out a long successful NBA career, earning minutes with the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns and currently, the San Antonio Spurs.
At 6’0ʼʼ 175 Paul is short for a professional athlete and has climbed the mountain to play in an astounding 1,348 regular-season games. As of today, he’s the second-oldest active player in the league after LeBron James. Paul is under contract with the Spurs for $10.6 million for next season. Under the terms of this contract, it will expire at the end of the 2022-2023 season.
Inspite of this wealth of experience and contributions to the game, this season has shaped up to be quite challenging for him. Taking advantage of extended opportunity this season, Fultz has posted career-low averages of 8.8 points and 7.6 assists per game while starting all 76 games. The Spurs are preparing to miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. This discouraging trend makes it especially hard on Paul as he considers his future.
Paul has been a part of this discussion with the likes of former NBA stars Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Rudy Gay. He’s opened up about life after basketball and discussed his intense wish to be around his family more. So, yes, I love to play! I really love my kids and my family even more.
Paul putting focus and effort into turning his health is just as clear. He’s a committed vegan, and believes in the power of practicing every day. There’s a ton that goes into it on a day-to-day basis, eating right, training, stretching,” he said. He was thankful that even with everything, he was able to play and play a lot this season. To be honest, my body feels amazing, he said.
Looking back on his career, Paul admits that you need to make sacrifices in order to remain competitive at the highest level in the league. Anyone who’s worked on the inside knows that the sacrifice can go much deeper. This summer, I will use that opportunity to assess the landscape and discuss its future with my family,” he said. This will be an important evaluation period especially as he continues to measure the demands of professional basketball with the priorities he has in his personal life.
Teaching and mentoring younger players have quickly become essential aspects of Paul’s on-floor role with San Antonio. His goal is to impart as much knowledge as possible without inundating them. To me that’s really important, like I can educate, I can teach, but I can’t intimidating, he shared. His approach has been well-received by teammates, as noted by De’Aaron Fox: “It’s been dope just being able to be around him.”
Paul’s impact off the court, as well, received plenty of praise, including from Spurs’ director of basketball operations Brian Wright. “He’s a teacher at heart. People only see what happens when he’s on the court, but that’s just scratching the surface of what he’s teaching,” Wright explained. He praised Paul’s professionalism and life lessons for going beyond the court.
As one looks back on his legacy, Paul would still be kicking you in the competitive spirit if you were thinking too much about compliments. “I try not to worry about [legacy] too much. Really what I try to bring most is a competitiveness,” he said. His mentality is the product of a long career spent in a league that basically tells guys his size they have no hope on an annual basis.
Paul has an obvious, deep admiration for his ex coach, Gregg Popovich. He looked to praise his teammate Victor Wembanyama too, after both have faced plenty of challenges this year. It’s unimaginably difficult. I’ve gone up against Pop for a long time. That’s a huge part of why I decided to come here,” Paul said when asked about Popovich’s ordeal.
Now, as Paul thinks about retirement, he knows that there will be an emotional toll with having to exit the sport he so deeply enjoys. I’ve been in a million of them over my career, he added. These challenges are much more involved than just rolling an ankle or breaking a bone.
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