On Monday, it was announced that Chris Paul was heading back to the Los Angeles Clippers on a one-year deal. Now 40 years old, he previously played for the Clippers from 2011-12 until 2016-17. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists with 4,023. Since then, he has played for an additional five teams, and he also played for the New Orleans Hornets prior to joining LA. The 2025-26 season will be Chris Paul’s 21st in the league, a number that has been reached by very few. You wouldn’t even need to use all the fingers on both of your hands.
Chris Paul’s Longevity Matched By Few In League History
Chris Paul Is Now Signed For His 21st NBA Season
It was back in 2005 where Paul was selected fourth overall in the NBA draft. Since then, he has racked up numerous accolades and achievements. Some of those include 2005-06 Rookie of the Year, 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, and nine-time All-Defensive member. The six-foot point guard is second all-time in both career assists (12,499) and steals (2,717), only behind John Stockton in both categories. Paul has led the league in steals six times and assists on five occasions.
Another accomplishment is reaching 21 seasons played in the NBA, which will happen when he appears in his first game of the upcoming season. Paul will become just the seventh player in league history to play that amount of total seasons. There are four others who played 21 seasons in the NBA. They are Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis, and Robert Parish.
There have only been two individuals who have played more than 21 seasons. One is Vince Carter, who retired in 2020 after 22 years in the league. The other is LeBron James, who is preparing for his NBA-record 23rd season.
Will Move Up Career Games Played And Minutes Leaderboards
There are other leaderboards that Paul can find his way moving up this upcoming season. Last year while with the San Antonio Spurs, he appeared in all 82 games for just the second time of his career. Currently, his 1,354 career outings place him 16th on the all-time list. If he plays in 71 games in 2025-26, he will move into 10th place, moving ahead of Clifford Robinson, Reggie Miller, Jason Kidd, Tim Duncan, Jason Terry, and Kevin Willis.
CP3 also finds himself with the 19th-most minutes played in NBA history with 45,608. Last season, he played 2,292 minutes for San Antonio. In order to move into the top-10, Paul would need to play 2,157 in 2025-26. Doing so would help him surpass Robert Parish, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, John Havlicek, Gary Payton, Tim Duncan, Reggie Miller, and John Stockton.
In the meantime, Paul joins a veteran-laden team with the majority of their rotation being at least 31 years old. Will they be able to help ‘The Point God’ earn his first NBA championship?
Photo credit: © Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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