Bradley Beal Explains Wearing No. 3 Clippers Jersey After Chris Paul Retirement, 'No Disrespect'

Bradley Beal will wear No. 3 for the Los Angeles Clippers this season, but he was adamant he is showing no disrespect to his friend Chris Paul while doing so.

"It's no disrespect to Chris. Chris and I are amazing friends," he told reporters Monday. "He's an amazing guy. Like I said before, his legacy is going to be up here [in the rafters]. What I'm doing ain't got nothing to do with that. … I'm happy to be wearing the number I've worn my entire career. I'm superstitious, didn't wear my number last year. I didn't play at all last year."

Beal also addressed the topic earlier this month when he said Paul's legacy with the Clippers "can't be touched, nor erased."

Paul wore No. 3 his entire career, including when he was with Los Angeles from 2011-12 through 2016-17 and again for his 16 games with the team last season before he was sent home in December.

He finished in the top seven of MVP voting five straight times during his first stint with the Clippers and led them to the playoffs in each of his six years.

The future Hall of Famer is also the franchise leader in assists, steals per game, assists per game and player efficiency rating, among other statistical markers, per Basketball Reference.

Notably, he revealed on 7PM in Brooklyn in February that Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told him the team would retire his number:

For now, though, Beal will be wearing it as the three-time All-Star looks to bounce back from appearing in just six games during the 2025-26 campaign.