Chris Paul Announces Big Retirement Decision on Saturday

Chris Paul is back in his home state on Saturday to face the Charlotte Hornets. In a majorly disappointing season for the Los Angeles Clippers, CP3 is desperately trying to help his team turn things around. Before the afternoon game, however, Paul made a big announcement about his future.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Paul will be retiring after this season. The 40-year-old point guard posted on social media earlier in the morning, "What a ride...Still so much left...GRATEFUL for this last one."

Clippers News: Chris Paul Announces Retirement After the Season

What a ride, indeed. A championship may have eluded the Point God, but he has cemented himself as one of the greatest point guards ever to play the game. On the list of best players to never win a ring, Paul belongs near the very top.

When he joined the Clippers in the offseason, he was hoping to change that reality. Like many, he likely thought that he could contend for a title in Los Angeles, where he had the best years of his career from 2011 to 2017. What would have been a fairy tale ending has been a disaster so far.

Paul has been in and out of the rotation and has been showing signs of decline. He was a healthy scratch for five games already and is averaging 13.7 minutes per game. The Clippers are 4-11 and could be headed to a lost season.

Regardless of how Paul's final season in the NBA goes, he will be remembered as a Clippers legend. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and should have his jersey raised to the rafters in the Intuit Dome, becoming the first Clippers player to have his jersey number retired.

In his first stint with the Clippers, Paul had back-to-back seasons of top-five finishes in the MVP race and made five straight All-NBA teams. He wasn't able to lead those teams past the second round and had disappointing playoff exits. But, the six-year stretch when Paul was there, the Clippers were a perennial contender, winning 50 games every single year (had a 50-win pace in the shortened 2011-12 season). This stretch remains the most successful era of Clippers basketball, even though the team made the Conference Finals after Paul's departure.

Because of his perceived lack of postseason success, Paul will likely always be underrated in the hierarchy of the NBA's all-time greats. Yet, he will be remembered as one of the best floor generals ever, and his longevity, leadership, and two-way ability despite physical limitations should serve as an example to basketball players everywhere.

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