LOS ANGELES – LA Clippers guard Chris Paul made headlines on Saturday when it was announced that he would head into retirement following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. There was never a public concrete timeline in place in terms of how long he wanted to play, but Paul’s decision was first revealed as the Clippers found themselves in North Carolina, where his journey began, to face off against the Charlotte Hornets. Paul’s announcement had a ripple effect through the NBA, including reactions from Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
JJ Redick and Chris Paul were teammates with the Clippers from 2013-2017. Paul was traded to the team ahead of the 2011-12 season, and Redick signed as a free agent in 2013. The duo formed the starting backcourt for the Clippers, and Redick acknowledged that he never quite had the same on-court chemistry with any other player as he did with Paul.
“We had our battles, but when I was his teammate, the thing that I loved the most was our nonverbal synergy. And it’s hard to capture that in a single play or a single moment. But I always talk about teams feeling like an organism that functions together,” Redick said following Lakers practice on Saturday. “When a team is really functioning together, there’s a connective tissue to that. I don’t think there was a player that I played with that I felt more of a connective tissue than Chris Paul.”
The battles that JJ Redick was referring to go back to their college days when they were rivals in the ACC as Redick played at Duke and Chris Paul played at Wake Forest. Paul entered the NBA a year before Redick did in 2005 as the No. 4 overall pick by the then New Orleans Hornets. Redick was the No. 11 overall pick in 2006 by the Orlando Magic.
Redick recalled an interaction during his rookie season with Paul that at the time, solidified his animosity towards his future teammate.
“My rookie year I was in a suit, and this is when we hated each other. He came over during a dead ball,” Redick said with a laugh. “He was in the left corner and I was behind the bench, and he goes, ‘Yeah this is a lot different from college isn’t it, JJ?’ And I said, ‘I f**cking hate that guy.’”
But Redick and Paul’s initial disdain for each other dissipated when they became teammates with the Clippers. Even after they both left the Clippers, and with Redick retiring first, the duo have remained, as Redick has put it, like brothers.
Last season, when wildfires ravaged much of the LA area, Redick’s home was among those affected. Paul was with the San Antonio Spurs at the time, and they came to town to face off against the Lakers amid the ongoing uncertainty. Among the possessions lost were a collection of basketball jerseys and cards that Redick’s sons had amassed over the years. In a touching gesture, Paul made sure to seek out Redick’s sons after the game with a signed jersey to begin their collection anew.
The only thing missing in Paul’s 21-year career is an NBA championship. Redick joked that as fond as he is of Paul, that’s the one thing he doesn’t want to see him get this season cause it would be the Lakers didn’t win the title. But as far as Paul’s overall legacy goes, Redick will leave that one up to others. He just wants to remember the good person he’s come to know well.
“[His legacy] will be whatever people decide. I’m not gonna craft a narrative. I just know him as a human being, his teammate and a brother,” Redick said. “The arc of our relationship is very interesting going from a decade plus of quite literally hating each other, to feeling like he’s part of my family.”
