Chris Paul, who has played for seven teams in the NBA since making his debut in 2005, was possibly at his brilliant best while suiting up for the Los Angeles Clippers. Between 2011 and 2017, Paul established himself as the ‘Point God’, one of the greatest to ever play the point guard position.
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However, his time in LA came to an abrupt end when he was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2017. While the move didn’t hurt his career, it did impact his family. Paul, his wife Jada, and their two children were well settled in Los Angeles, but things changed after the move to Houston.
CP3 relocated to H-Town, while his wife and kids stayed back in California. It became an extremely difficult period for the 12-time All-Star and his family. Rachel Nichols of Sports Illustrated recently spoke about how committed Paul was to making things work with the Rockets, but also explained why it all ended after just two seasons.
“He got dealt [to] Houston and he felt a very underhanded way, and suddenly all this that he had done was for nothing,” Nichols began.
“His wife is an incredibly accomplished and smart person who had her own life here in Los Angeles. And I think, they just decided as a family, okay, I’m not gonna have much control over where I go,” she added.
Paul tasted more team success with the Rockets than he did with the Clippers. He even got to the Western Conference Finals in 2018. Had he not injured himself in that series against the Golden State Warriors, Paul may very well have gone to the Finals and won the whole thing.
On the personal front, however, life was getting difficult. Although not well-documented at the time, CP3 was in disarray and wanted to travel shorter distances to be with his wife and children. Paul just wanted to move closer to home.
In 2019, he moved to Oklahoma City and spent a season there before joining the Phoenix Suns, which, according to Nichols, was a happier place for Paul.
“The reason Phoenix worked out was that the commute home from Phoenix to LA is not terrible. It’s not like commuting back from the East Coast,” said Nichols.
Even in San Antonio, where Paul spent the 24-25 season, he admitted to missing special moments with his family. “Even if you can commute back and forth, you’re not there some days,” he said.
Ahead of the new season, Paul declared that he wanted to be as close to Jada and his children as possible. For his 21st and last season in the NBA, he didn’t want to spend hours just to be a father at home. Thankfully, he got his wish with the LA Clippers picking him up in free agency.
Paul is now reunited with his family for good, and with a team where he was at his brilliant best. At 40 years old, he won’t be the athletic star who started almost all games for the Clippers in the early 2010s. But he will surely be a valuable veteran addition to a team that expects nothing short of ending the season with a ring.
