Chris Paul Not Ruling Out Playing Beyond 2025-26 NBA Season After Clippers Contract
The 2025-26 season may not be Chris Paul's last rodeo.
The Los Angeles Clippers point guard hasn't ruled out playing beyond the upcoming campaign, as he told ESPN's Malika Andrews on Monday. Paul would be 41 years old in the 2026-27 season.
Paul's return to the Clippers, where he starred for six years alongside Blake Griffin during the Lob City era, will be under far different circumstances. This time around, he'll be operating as a backup point guard, providing depth behind starter James Harden.
He's part of a new-look supporting cast behind Harden and Kawhi Leonard that also includes the additions of Bradley Beal and John Collins. Expectations are high in Los Angeles, though the Western Conference still runs through Oklahoma City.
Paul, meanwhile, continues to be productive. In 82 games for the San Antonio Spurs last year, he averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists in 28 minutes per contest, shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three.
While that was the lowest scoring average of his career—forgivable for a 40-year-old—his durability, leadership and play-making were a major asset for the young Spurs. The Clippers are clearly banking on him providing the same.
Just how long he can continue to do so remains to be seen. Nobody would be surprised if the 2025-26 campaign was ultimately his last. But Paul isn't ready to rule out a return just yet.
