The Paul File
- Fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft
- 12 NBA All-Star selections, 2008-2016, 2020-2022
- Four All-NBA First Team selections, 2008, 2012-2014
- Five All-NBA Second Team selections, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021
- Seven NBA All-Defensive First Team selections, 2009, 2012-2017
- NBA Rookie of the Year award, 2006
- Led the NBA in assists five times, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2022
- Led the NBA in steals six times, 2008, 2009, 2011-2014
- Two Olympic Gold Medals, 2008, 2012
A Dynasty, Denied
Chris Paul is an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer. He's a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, enshrining him as one of the greatest players to touch the hardwood. The one blemish on his resume, a glaring one, is a championship-sized omission.
Paul, through the 2021-2022 season, was without a championship. But did it have to be that way?
In 2011, the then New Orleans Hornets made it clear Paul was on the trading block. He was arguably the league's best point guard, and perhaps the most dangerous defensive point on the planet. The Los Angeles Lakers were able to agree to a deal that would have brought Paul to LA and alongside Kobe Bryant. The deal would have shaken the foundation of the league, pairing the best two guards together. A potential Dwight Howard move was brewing at the time, too.
Many among basketball circles suggest this would have been the dynasty of the 2010s. Instead, then commissioner David Stern nixed the trade on behalf of the owners, effectively vetoing the deal. Paul would end up on the Los Angeles "Lob City" Clippers, where their highlights ran rampant until the playoffs.
Paul's lack of a championship has haunted him into his late 30s, and may be a ghost he can never shake. For that, he has Stern to thank.