'It was a no-brainer': Paul celebrated in L.A. return

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Eight years after last playing for the Clippers franchise and four years since reaching the NBA Finals for the only time in his career by eliminating them, Chris Paul was back in an LA Clippers uniform Monday.

After snapping photos in his familiar No. 3 jersey -- updated with a fresh font and sharper colors since his first six seasons with LA -- and conducting a reintroductory news conference, Paul was greeted by nearly a thousand fans who packed an event space inside Intuit Dome to herald his return.

Before he was treated with "C-P-3!" chants from the crowd, the 40-year-old Paul revealed to reporters his motivation to come back. It wasn't just to play for the team where he was named a five-time All-Star and became the all-time leader in assists, but to be closer to his wife, Jada; his son, Chris Jr.; and his daughter, Camryn -- who stayed in Los Angeles as a family while he played in five other cities since being traded to the Houston Rockets in 2017.

"It was a no-brainer," Paul said. "If I'm really honest, I wanted to get back and play here by any means necessary."

Paul said his exit from the team nearly a decade ago "wasn't the prettiest thing" but that he kept a dialogue going with owner Steve Ballmer through his former role as president of the players' union. Last summer, before Intuit Dome opened for its first NBA season, Paul reached out to Ballmer, who provided a personal tour of the new digs.

Just over a week ago, Paul agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million veterans minimum deal to play his 21st season in LA.

While the future Hall of Fame point guard did not commit to 2025-26 being his swan song -- "I am approaching [the season] with a lot of excitement, not necessarily what's next," he said on stage in front of the fans, "I'm just trying to be in it" -- he made clear how comfortable he is with the group he is joining.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was his former assistant coach. Clippers star James Harden was his former backcourt mate in Houston. Bradley Beal, whom Paul was traded for when he was in Phoenix and Beal was in Washington, has a longtime connection to Paul through their time as Jordan Brand athletes.

"I'm just so excited about the moves that the team has made this offseason," Paul said. "Brad coming to the team, Brook Lopez, all the young guys. I talked to James, I talked to Kawhi [Leonard], and I'm even more excited about what I think we have a chance to do."

Paul, in his 20th season, played all 82 games for the first time in his career with the San Antonio Spurs in 2024-25. He averaged 8.8 points on 42.7% shooting (37.7% from 3) with 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

He likely will not be asked to play as big of a role on a deep Clippers team loaded with guards in Harden, Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn. Paul said he will accept what he is asked to do to help the group.

"My role on this team is obviously different than it's been the past 20 years, being in the NBA," Paul said, "but showing up every day, if I can show some of the guys what it looks like every day to clock in and clock out, I'm excited for it."

Paul ranks No. 2 in assists and steals on the NBA's all-time list, behind only John Stockton in both categories. He is No. 36 in scoring with 23,011 points.

"It was a no-brainer. If I'm really honest, I wanted to get back and play here by any means necessary." Chris Paul

The only thing missing on his résumé is a championship. He came close in 2021 with the Suns, beating the Clippers in six games in the conference finals before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the Finals. Paul and Harden also made it to Game 7 of the conference finals together in 2018 before losing to the Golden State Warriors.

When addressing the fans, Paul said he relishes being on a competitive team with a chance.

"You all who have seen me play for a while, I'm going to try to do better and try to smile a little bit more this year," Paul said. "I'm grateful. I'm going to come out every single night, whatever that looks like, and try to make sure I show up for the team."