Los Angeles Clippers' 12-time All-Star shooting guard Chris Paul has surprisingly announced his retirement at the end of this season via The Athletic on Saturday, marking the end of his 20-year NBA career.

According to reports, Paul had already hinted that this season would be his final year in the NBA on Saturday morning (US local time). At the time, journalists assumed he would move to play abroad next year, but his sudden retirement decision still surprised many.

Paul later hinted at his retirement on his official Instagram account, writing, "Back in North Carolina!!! What a great journey…so much to do…Thank you for this final leg of the journey!!" The post was accompanied by a reel showcasing his NBA career highlights.

It's worth noting that Paul stated, "I haven't decided when to retire, and I won't set a specific date" when he appeared on a podcast just two weeks ago, making his sudden retirement announcement still a surprise to many.

About Chris Paul

The 40-year-old Paul was born on May 6, 1985, in Forsyth County, North Carolina. He is 1.83 meters tall and weighs 79 kilograms. He plays as a shooting guard and is nicknamed CP3 and "The Point God".

During his time at Wake Forest University, Paul recorded 948 points, 395 assists, and 160 steals.

He was named the 2003/04 ACC Freshman of the Year, the 2004/05 ACC Pre-season Player of the Year, and the Associated Press Player of the Year.

He is also considered the greatest freshman in the university's history, ranking first in college freshman history in steals, assists, three-point shooting percentage, and free throw percentage, while ranking third in scoring and points per game in college history.

In addition, he holds the ACC record of 84 steals, surpassing Jason Williams' previous record of 81 set at Duke University in the 1999/00 season.

Paul was selected fourth overall in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, thus beginning his twenty-year NBA career.

He subsequently played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs.

This July, Paul returned to the Los Angeles Clippers on a one-year, $11 million contract.

Throughout his impressive twenty-year NBA career, Paul averaged 16.9 points and 9.2 assists per game. He and only LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers are the only two players in history to surpass 20,000 points and 10,000 assists.

Furthermore, his 12,000 career assists make him the only player after John Stockton and Jason Kidd to reach this milestone.

Individually, Paul is a 12-time NBA All-Star, a 4-time All-NBA First Team selection, a 5-time All-NBA Second Team selection, a 2-time All-NBA Third Team selection, a 7-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, a 2-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection, and a 2006 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. 

He has also been named NBA All-Star Game MVP once, the 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year, a 5-time NBA assists leader, a 6-time NBA steals leader, and was named one of the NBA's 75 Greatest Players in 2021.