Windy looks back on Chris Paul’s 21 years in the NBA (2:18)
Brian Windhorst joins «SportsCenter» to discuss Chris Paul’s retirement and how he could still have a future in the NBA. (2:18)
Feb 13, 2026, 01:49 PM ET
Chris Paul announced his retirement from the NBA via a social media post Friday.
The «Point God» had previously said he would retire at the end of this season, his 21st NBA campaign.
«This is it! After 21 years I’m stepping away from basketball,» Paul wrote on Instagram.
Paul, 40, is a 12-time All-Star, an 11-time member of All-NBA teams, a nine-time All-Defensive teams member, the 2006 Rookie of the Year, two-time Olympic gold medalist and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
He was waived by the Toronto Raptors on Friday after being traded from the LA Clippers on February 4. The Raptors did not require Paul to report to the team and had looked to move him before the trade deadline.
The Raptors knew Paul would never play in Toronto, and that begged the question about whether the Wake Forest legend 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.
Paul strongly hinted earlier this season that this year was going to be his last. He 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.
Paul made the announcement on the first day of the NBA’s All-Star weekend at the home of the Clippers in Inglewood, California.
Paul and the Clippers abruptly agreed to part ways in early December after he was reportedly not on speaking terms with Clippers coach Ty Lue for several weeks before his ouster from the team. He later told People.com he was «at peace» with the separation and looking forward to what was next.
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.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
