{"id":238514,"date":"2025-10-24T22:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T22:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/238514\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T22:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T22:00:09","slug":"chris-pauls-return-to-los-angeles-clippers-means-the-crew-is-back-together-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/238514\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Paul’s return to Los Angeles Clippers means ‘the crew is back together again’"},"content":{"rendered":"

INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2013 Chris Paul Jr. turned to his mother and asked, \u201cMom, has dad ever been to one of my high school basketball games?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jada Paul thought for a moment before answering, \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said a smiling Chris Paul Jr.: \u201cSo, he can finally come to one of my high school games now.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Chris Paul Sr.<\/a> and his family, the missed moments will now be less frequent because he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>, his second stint with the franchise. For the past six NBA seasons, the 40-year-old has primarily been away from his wife, son, daughter, big brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew, parents and extended family. <\/p>\n

After the pain of being away in the NBA during his children\u2019s formidable years, Paul reached a boiling point and found his way back to his family\u2019s home base to continue playing rather than retire.<\/p>\n

Reunited with the Clippers, the Paul family feels so good together again in Los Angeles for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sort of knew that going into this year that if it wasn\u2019t here it wasn\u2019t worth it because time is fleeting and you don\u2019t get that back,\u201d Paul told Andscape in late July after checking out his new locker and putting on his uniform in the Clippers\u2019 locker room. \u201cOur kids are at a very unique age where I know I missed a lot of time. And it\u2019s not about making it up; it\u2019s about doing what you can. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything to be back. To be back playing here with my family, yeah. Wow. We actually all have been so busy. Peach Jam [basketball tournament] with Chris and we were in Vegas [for an AAU tournament] with my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LosChris Paul\u2019s wife, Jada (right), supported her husband\u2019s NBA career, but she knew a change was needed for the family to truly thrive.<\/p>\n

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Paul is a projected first-ballot Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer with career averages of 17 points, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 1,354 NBA contests. He previously played for the Clippers from 2011 to 2017 during the \u201cLob City\u201d era with highfliers Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The 20-year NBA veteran and former players\u2019 union chief is second in NBA history in steals and assists behind only John Stockton. The 12-time NBA All-Star showed he can still play at a high level by suiting up for all 82 games for the San Antionio Spurs last season.<\/p>\n

Always standing above his NBA career, however, was his wife, Jada; son, 16-year-old Chris Paul Jr.; and his 12-year-old daughter, Camryn. After Paul was traded from the Clippers to the Houston Rockets in 2017, his family moved with him to Houston and his children changed schools four times in the process. <\/p>\n

Paul actually once flew back to Houston on a red-eye flight after a road game against the Golden State Warriors instead of flying back with the Rockets the next day. He wanted to take his children to school.<\/p>\n

So, in 2019, when Paul joined the Oklahoma City Thunder, a family decision was made for his wife and children to be based in Los Angeles while he played for the Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Warriors and Spurs from 2019 to 2025. <\/p>\n

Jada said the 2019-2020 season in which her husband played in the \u201cNBA Bubble\u201d in Orlando, Fla., during the coronavirus pandemic, was the biggest challenge for the family. Paul\u2019s brother and primary right-hand guy, C.J., also decided that instead of joining Chris on the road, that he and his family would stay in Los Angeles to manage Chris\u2019 business affairs.<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s absence had a profound effect on him and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him about once a month,\u201d C.J. said about visiting his brother since 2019. \u201cHe\u2019s in another city and then he goes on the road to play other games. It\u2019s crazy to say, but I mostly caught him on the road the last couple of years. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sigh of relief. The crew is back together again. It\u2019s not like he\u2019s missing time with the kids anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘It’s a sigh of relief’: Chris Paul’s return to Los Angeles more than a Clippers reunion \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Jada Paul supported her husband\u2019s NBA career as he reached 40, but she knew a change was needed for the family to truly thrive and be at peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to support him until the wheels fall off,\u201d Jada Paul told Andscape. \u201cThe past years have been hard. But the past two years have been harder than the previous three. He just hates being away from the kids, missing their games and not doing things in real time. This past [season] I traveled a lot more than in [seasons] prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was beating himself up about [being away]. And I told him, \u2018This contract [with the Spurs] is not going to change our lives. Be aware that you\u2019re making a choice. You are choosing to do this.\u2019 But I didn\u2019t want him to quit before it\u2019s finished and be resentful later.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, Paul told Andscape he would evaluate how his body feels after the 2024-25 season and consult with his family about whether it was worth continuing to play. In early July, he told journalist Jemele Hill he would play \u201cat most [another] year.\u201d While the Los Angeles Lakers were rumored as a potential suitor as well as other teams, Paul was focused on returning to the Clippers, where he still had a strong relationship with owner Steve Ballmer. C.J. Paul advised his brother to \u201cgo where he is happy\u201d \u2014 back with the Clippers.<\/p>\n

While it took longer than the family hoped, the Clippers announced July 21 that Paul was returning on a one-year deal. Instead of flying to visit his family on rare off days, his biggest challenge now \u2014 to his delight \u2014 is commuting from the Los Angeles Valley area to Inglewood for practice and games.<\/p>\n

Paul and his wife acknowledged that with him playing in Los Angeles it\u2019s not a given that it\u2019s his final season either.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see [about the future], but having him home definitely makes it easier,\u201d Jada Paul said. \u201cI would say that I took him for granted when we lived here before and in Houston because he was there to do the school pickups. And then it was all up to me. I didn\u2019t realize it until he was gone. Like, \u2018Oh shoot. I\u2019d love to have him here,\u2019 the emotional support, the physical support. Maybe [he will play longer]. As long as his body holds up. I have to keep gluing him at the seams. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing here is great because there is no pressure. \u2018It\u2019s not like you\u2019re trying to play for a new contract. Just go have fun. The fans love you. You get to be home with the kids. It\u2019s a win-win. Have fun.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChrisInstead of flying to visit his family on off days, Chris Paul\u2019s biggest challenge is commuting from the Los Angeles Valley area to Inglewood for Los Angeles Clippers practices and games.<\/p>\n

Melissa Majchrzak\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Clippers have a talented roster with new additions in guard Bradley Beal, forward John Collins and center Brook Lopez to join franchise stars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. By returning to the Clippers, the franchise\u2019s career leader in assists also strengthens the possibility of him becoming the first player in franchise history to get their jersey retired at Intuit Dome. It\u2019s an honor Paul, who is back wearing No. 3, would be proud to earn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basketball and life and all that is a blessing. And that\u2019s fun,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n

But make no mistake, being in Los Angeles with his family was Paul\u201ds biggest draw in returning to the Clippers. Chris Paul Jr. will be a sophomore guard at Campbell Hall High School this upcoming season. He just played for his father\u2019s AAU team at the prestigious Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, South Carolina, and is nearly as tall as him at 5-foot-11. Camryn also is a talented junior high basketball player. Her father was in attendance during a recent AAU event in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Now, with Dad wearing a Clippers uniform, they all can regularly go to each other\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I\u2019m most excited about is being present. \u2026 When you have that person, whether it\u2019s my wife and my kids, sometimes you don\u2019t have to be doing anything,\u201d Chris Paul said. \u201cIt\u2019s just being in each other\u2019s space. And I think that is what I miss more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Jada Paul: \u201cI\u2019m so happy. With the kids getting older, it makes so much of a difference. Just in the summer we\u2019ve had him home coaching them in real time at their games. It\u2019s just been big for them because they\u2019re in their formative years. So, it has been great. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a new arena. But it feels familiar. I never thought we\u2019d come back. It\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Chris Paul Jr.: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t just mean the world to me, it means the world to everybody. Everybody is happy that he is back. And it\u2019s not like a new team. Everybody is familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked who her favorite basketball player was, without hesitation Camryn said, \u201cMy dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn\u2019t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2013 Chris Paul Jr. turned to his mother and asked, \u201cMom, has dad ever been to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-238514","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}