Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacted to the news surrounding his former teammate
It was announced yesterday that Chris Paul is set to end his NBA career following the completion of the 2025-26 season.
Paul has played for seven teams throughout his storied NBA career – the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors, and the San Antonio Spurs – and has impacted the entire league for over 20 years with his passing capabilities and floor general tendencies.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick played with Paul on the Clippers from 2013 to 2017. The two have remained close since their stint together as teammates.
“Our relationship is very interesting, from going for a decade-plus of quite literally hating each other, to feeling like [Paul’s] a part of my family,” Redick said during an interview on Nov. 22. “And getting to watch him evolve as a player, as a competitor, as a leader in the later stages, particularly after I retired, has been actually really fun for me."
Paul has never won a Larry O’Brien trophy – with this season being his last chance to accomplish the feat – but has certainly impacted the game beyond that. He is a 12-time all-star, a 75th Anniversary Team member and is second to only John Stockton all-time in career assists in the NBA with 12,540 and counting.
"I think it’s rare that you see guys who have accomplished as much as he’s accomplished to grow in the ways that he grew, both as a player and a person,” Redick added.
“We used to talk about this at the Clippers all the time, like squeezing the juice out of a possession, and [Paul] was the master at that,” Redick said. “He squeezed the juice out of every possession. And that’s like the micro version of him, is just manipulating the game, thinking the game, squeezing the juice out of every possession. He squeezed the juice out of his career."
Redick spoke highly of his relationship with Paul, but also shed some light on the years in which the two were enemies, remembering a specific moment his rookie year when he was roasted by the Clippers guard while sitting on the bench, not dressed for the game.
"He has done that for over two decades, and it’s remarkable for a player his size to be able to compete at that level for so long and so consistently. The game will miss him.”
But above all, Redick appreciated his “non-verbal synergy” on the court with Paul, something they now have to put aside when he coaches against the future Hall-of-Famer.
Fittingly, the Lakers play the Clippers next week, and after that, three more times across the rest of the season, which will give Redick and Paul some final memories together in an NBA arena, though this time, as an opposing player and an opposing coach.