INGLEWOOD, Calif. — From the league's investigation to start the 2025-26 regular season to the shocking trades of James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the NBA trade deadline, this LA Clippers season has felt like two or three whole seasons lumped into one.
Somewhere along the line, the Clippers parted ways with the future Hall-of-Famer and best player in franchise history in Chris Paul. Paul's banishing came as a surprise to everyone in the league, with an outcry of support for Paul and heavy criticism for the Clippers, especially given the fact this was set to be his final season in the NBA.
After being dealt at the NBA trade deadline and not being able to find a new home to close out the season, Chris Paul officially retired from the NBA over All-Star Weekend. It brought a close to an illustrious, 21-year NBA career and left just one member of the “Lob City Clippers' remaining: DeAndre Jordan.
The center is playing in his 18th season in the NBA, still going strong and currently a starter for the New Orleans Pelicans.
In an exclusive interview following the retirement of Paul, Jordan tells ClutchPoints he remains loyal to his former All-Star teammate.
“Oh, that's my guy, man,” DeAndre Jordan says in an exclusive interview. “Chris helped my career out tremendously, so nobody can tell me anything bad about CP. He's a Hall-of-Famer. He's done so much for this game. He's helped so many of the young players, older guys, helped with IQ, you know. And then the off the court stuff. He does so much stuff for kids and HBCU schools and everything. So it's just great to be able to see him continue to be just that persona and life for guys.”
Of the 243 teammates that DeAndre Jordan shared the floor with throughout his 18-year NBA career, only Blake Griffin (543 games played) has played more games alongside Jordan than second place Chris Paul (459 games played). The duo of Jordan and Paul played 406 regular season games together in addition to 53 playoff games across six regular season games. The duo had a .658 winning percentage, going 302-157 in those 459 games together.
Jordan is the player that Paul has played more games with than anyone else over Paul's 20-year NBA career that totaled 249 teammates.
In the 338 games that Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan all played together, the Clippers put together a 232-106 record (.686 winning percentage) while putting together five consecutive 50-win seasons after not recording a single 50-win campaign in the franchise's previous 42 years.
That's why stepping inside Intuit Dome has a special meaning for Jordan, who recognizes the magnitude of the foundation laid by Paul, Griffin, and himself from 2011-2017, despite never having won an NBA Championship for the franchise.
“I mean, yeah, obviously us three, but Steve Ballmer has done an amazing job with the organization, and it's cool to see the Clippers finally having their own arena,” Jordan added. “That's something that we talked about for such a long time during my time here, with 10 years here. But it was, you know, it's cool, man. I love to see the growth and Clipper Nation continuing to spread. That fan base that was amazing for my time here, and they continue to be amazing.”
Chris Paul joined the Clippers as their final season of the summer of 2025 with the understanding that he may not be playing much, but also that his coarse leadership style would have to be reigned in. The team struggled to start the season and, as they kept tumbling down the standings, league sources told ClutchPoints that Paul's abrasive methods persisted to the point where he got into a heated argument with assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy for changing up a defensive scheme mid-game on his own. Paul was also later seen visibly frustrated during the team's flight to Miami a day prior to the Clippers sending him home.
The manner in which the Clippers moved on from Paul — their franchise legend, in the middle of a night, on a multi-game East coast road trip — set off a lot of alarms for people around the league.
DeAndre Jordan admits Chris Paul has a very specific leadership style, and it's one that he felt was necessary for his own career.
“I think he's amazing,” DeAndre Jordan told ClutchPoints. “Yeah, he's going to push you, he's going to challenge you to be the best player you can be. He's going to bark at you. And you know, that's his Napoleon complex. But I mean, sh*t, like for me, I needed that. And some players need that. Some guys don't want to be challenged, and that's fine. But I think that if you were to ask any player, they would want CP on their team.”
Alongside Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan developed into an NBA All-Star in the 2016-17 season, finishing the six year stint alongside Paul with two All-Defensive First Team selections, two All-NBA Third Team selections, one All-NBA First Team selection, and as a two-time rebounding champion while also finishing in the top four in Defensive Player of the Year voting three years in a row.
Chris Paul finished his NBA career playing 21 seasons and exactly 425 regular season games for both the Clippers and New Orleans Hornets franchises. Despite the ugly ending this season, the Clippers are hopeful that time will heal all wounds and that they'll be able to one day retire the jerseys of DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin inside Intuit Dome.
“I'm happy with the career that he's had,” said Jordan. “I wish he obviously would have ended a little differently, selfishly, but I'm sure that he's at peace with it.”
