‘It’s a sigh of relief’: Chris Paul’s return to Los Angeles more than a Clippers reunion

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.”

“So, he can finally come to one of my high school games now,” Chris Paul Jr. said, smiling.

For NBA veteran Chris Paul Sr., the precious missed moments will now be less frequent because he returned to his family base by signing with the Los Angeles Clippers. The 40-year-old had been primarily away from his wife, son, daughter, big brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew, regularly visiting parents and extended family for the past six NBA seasons.

After the pain of being away during his children’s formidable years, Paul reached a boiling point and found his way back home 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 Sr. told Andscape 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 [tournament in North Augusta, S.C.] with Chris and we were in Vegas [for AAU tournament] with my daughter.”

Paul is a projected first-ballot Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer after averaging 17 points, 9.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and two steals per game across 20 NBA seasons. He previously played for the Clippers from 2011 to 2017 during the “Lob City” era with high fliers Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

A 12-time All-Star and former players’ union chief, Paul is second in NBA history in career steals and assists behind only John Stockton. He showed he can still compete at a high level by playing in all 82 regular-season games for the San Antionio Spurs last season.

But Paul’s wife, Jada, son Chris Jr., 16, and daughter Camryn, 12, have always been the first priority in his career. After Paul left the Clippers for the Houston Rockets in 2017, his family moved with him 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 because he wanted to take his children to school.

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. The family remained in Los Angeles while Paul 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., was the biggest challenge for the family. Paul’s brother, C.J. Paul, also decided to stay primarily in Los Angeles with his wife and two children 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. Paul 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.”

Jada Paul supported her husband’s NBA career through the years, but 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 July, he told journalist Jemele Hill he would play “at most, a year.”

While the Los Angeles Lakers were among the teams rumored as a potential suitor, 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.”

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 it’s his last season.

“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]. Maybe. 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.’ ”

Said Paul: “I take it one day at a time and see what happens.”

With Paul, Bradley Beal, John Collins and Brook Lopez joining franchise stars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden this season, the Clipper have a talented roster. By returning to the Clippers, Paul, the franchise’s all-time leader in assists, also strengthens the possibility of him becoming the first player in team history to get their jersey retired at Intuit Dome. It’s an honor Paul, who is still wearing his traditional 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. 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 and is nearly taller than him (Paul Sr. is 6-foot).

Camryn is a talented junior high basketball player whose father was in attendance during a recent AAU tournament 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…,” Paul said. “When you have that person, whether it’s my wife and my kids, sometimes you don’t have to be doing anything. 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.”

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.”