INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Chris Paul Jr. turned to his mother and asked, “Mom, has dad ever been to one of my high school basketball games?”
Jada Paul thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t think so.”
Said a smiling Chris Paul Jr.: “So, he can finally come to one of my high school games now.”
For Chris Paul Sr. and his family, the missed moments will now be less frequent because he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, 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.
After the pain of being away in the NBA during his children’s formidable years, Paul reached a boiling point and found his way back to his family’s home base to continue playing rather than retire.
Reunited with the Clippers, the Paul family feels so good together again in Los Angeles for the first time since 2017.
“I sort of knew that going into this year that if it wasn’t here it wasn’t worth it because time is fleeting and you don’t get that back,” Paul told Andscape in late July after checking out his new locker and putting on his uniform in the Clippers’ locker room. “Our kids are at a very unique age where I know I missed a lot of time. And it’s not about making it up; it’s about doing what you can. …
“It 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.”
Chris Paul’s wife, Jada (right), supported her husband’s NBA career, but she knew a change was needed for the family to truly thrive.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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 “Lob City” era with highfliers Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The 20-year NBA veteran and former players’ 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.
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.
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.
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.
Jada said the 2019-2020 season in which her husband played in the “NBA Bubble” in Orlando, Fla., during the coronavirus pandemic, was the biggest challenge for the family. Paul’s 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’ business affairs.
Paul’s absence had a profound effect on him and his family.
“I saw him about once a month,” C.J. said about visiting his brother since 2019. “He’s in another city and then he goes on the road to play other games. It’s crazy to say, but I mostly caught him on the road the last couple of years. …
“It’s a sigh of relief. The crew is back together again. It’s not like he’s missing time with the kids anymore.”
‘It’s a sigh of relief’: Chris Paul’s return to Los Angeles more than a Clippers reunion – AndscapeRead nowJada Paul supported her husband’s NBA career as he reached 40, but she knew a change was needed for the family to truly thrive and be at peace.
“I’m going to support him until the wheels fall off,” Jada Paul told Andscape. “The 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.
“He was beating himself up about [being away]. And I told him, ‘This contract [with the Spurs] is not going to change our lives. Be aware that you’re making a choice. You are choosing to do this.’ But I didn’t want him to quit before it’s finished and be resentful later.”
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 “at most [another] year.” 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 “go where he is happy” — back with the Clippers.
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 — to his delight — is commuting from the Los Angeles Valley area to Inglewood for practice and games.
Paul and his wife acknowledged that with him playing in Los Angeles it’s not a given that it’s his final season either.
“We’ll see [about the future], but having him home definitely makes it easier,” Jada Paul said. “I 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’t realize it until he was gone. Like, ‘Oh shoot. I’d love to have him here,’ 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. …
“Being here is great because there is no pressure. ‘It’s not like you’re trying to play for a new contract. Just go have fun. The fans love you. You get to be home with the kids. It’s a win-win. Have fun.’ ”
Instead of flying to visit his family on off days, Chris Paul’s biggest challenge is commuting from the Los Angeles Valley area to Inglewood for Los Angeles Clippers practices and games.
Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
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’s 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’s an honor Paul, who is back wearing No. 3, would be proud to earn.
“The basketball and life and all that is a blessing. And that’s fun,” Paul said.
But make no mistake, being in Los Angeles with his family was Paul”s 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’s 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.
Now, with Dad wearing a Clippers uniform, they all can regularly go to each other’s games.
“The thing I’m most excited about is being present. … When you have that person, whether it’s my wife and my kids, sometimes you don’t have to be doing anything,” Chris Paul said. “It’s just being in each other’s space. And I think that is what I miss more than anything.”
Said Jada Paul: “I’m so happy. With the kids getting older, it makes so much of a difference. Just in the summer we’ve had him home coaching them in real time at their games. It’s just been big for them because they’re in their formative years. So, it has been great. …
“It’s a new arena. But it feels familiar. I never thought we’d come back. It’s great.”
Said Chris Paul Jr.: “It doesn’t just mean the world to me, it means the world to everybody. Everybody is happy that he is back. And it’s not like a new team. Everybody is familiar.”
When asked who her favorite basketball player was, without hesitation Camryn said, “My dad.”
Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.