BIOGRAPHY
Chris Paul was born on May 6, 1985, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is a point guard in the NBA.
He has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists four times and steals six times. He has also been selected to nine NBA All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams.
Paul was a McDonald's All-American in high school. He attended Wake Forest University for two years of college basketball, where he helped the Demon Deacons achieve their first-ever number one ranking. He was selected fourth overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, where he developed into one of the league's premier players, finishing second in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2008. During the 2011 off-season, Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, only for the transaction to be controversially voided by the NBA. Later that summer, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers instead. Behind Paul's playmaking, the Clippers developed a reputation for their fast-paced offense and spectacular alley-oop dunks, earning them the nickname "Lob City". In 2017, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, and helped the team win a franchise-record 65 games in his debut season. He was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook on July 16, 2019.
On November 16, 2020, the Thunder traded Paul and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 protected first round pick. On February 23, Paul was selected to his 11th All-Star appearance, second in a row, as a Western Conference reserve. With Devin Booker being named a replacement All-Star a day later, Paul and Booker were the first Suns duo since Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in 2010 to be named All-Stars.
Off the court, Paul has served as the National Basketball Players Association president since August 2013. One of the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Nike and State Farm.
Paul married his college sweetheart, Jada Crawley, on September 10, 2011. Together they have two children, a son born in May 2009 and a daughter born in August 2012. The family resides in a Mediterranean-style mansion in Bel Air, which Paul bought from Avril Lavigne for $8.5 million in 2012. On November 11, 2011, Paul appeared with his family on Family Feud.
Paul is a Christian and attends church every Sunday whenever possible. In one interview, Paul commented, "I am so thankful that my parents raised me and C.J. to depend on God's guidance and our faith in Him, and to always be thankful for what we receive." He enjoys bowling and owns a franchise in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) League called L.A.X. He has hosted and participated in numerous celebrity and youth bowling events as the head of the CP3 Foundation, which benefits programs in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina, as well as charities in Winston-Salem. In 2018, Paul purchased a minority ownership stake in the Winston-Salem Dash, a minor league baseball team located in his hometown.
Paul's brother, C.J., played college basketball at Hampton University and University of South Carolina Upstate. In 2004, they played against each other when Wake Forest had a preseason exhibition with USC-Upstate. C.J. now works as Chris's personal manager. Paul is close friends with footballer Reggie Bush, the two lived in the One River Place complex in the New Orleans Central Business District while Bush was playing for the Saints. They also shared a personal chef.
