Veteran Chris Paul hopes to play at least ‘a year or two’ in the NBA

Chris Paul has been enjoying his first season in San Antonio so far. With teammate Victor Wembanyama at his side, he’s been tallying up assists just as he did back in the days he was nicknamed the Point God, and now he feels as if he still has at least a couple of more years in him before he finally retires from professional basketball. 

The 39-year-old recently passed Jason Kidd in the all-time NBA assist list, leading only behind John Stockton as the second-best ever. Now, there’s absolutely no doubt that he will earn an orange Hall of Fame jacket, as his legacy as one of the best point guards the league has seen is well consolidated.

One thing for sure is that this won’t be Paul’s last season in the NBA, as he already has an idea about when he’ll finally hang his basketball shoes for good. In a recent interview with Tony Parker, he talked about this impending decision: “Maybe a year or two, I’m still trying to feel it out.”

Chris Paul only plans to play 1–2 more seasons.
pic.twitter.com/WqytQKRqmI

— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) December 12, 2024

“I think at this point, the hardest part is — I love this, practice today and all that. I love hooping, I love all of that,” shared the 12-time All-Star. “The hardest part is when I get home and I gotta watch my kids games on my iPad. That’s the tug-of-war right now.”

During his 20th-NBA campaign, the veteran guard has been averaging 10.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists over 28.9 minutes per contest. After 24 games played this season, he’s been dropping in 42.8% of his attempts from the field and 35.2% from beyond the arc.

Some time ago, Chris said that he would go into coaching after retirement, but now he admitted he could reconsider it. “I always said I wasn’t going to coach, but I’m open to a whole bunch of things now,” Paul revealed. “I definitely know I don’t want to do it right off the bat whenever I finish, because I definitely want to be present for the kids.”

Can Chris Paul Catch John Stockton As The All-Time NBA Assist Leader?

Two decades after his debut in the NBA, Paul has become second in the all-time NBA assists list on Sunday after reaching his No. 12,092 career-assist. Now the Spurs star is only tracing Jazz icon John Stockton in the all-time assist list, who leads the league historically with 15,806 to his name.

If CP3 was to reach the Hall of Famer’s incredible milestone at the top of the ladder, he would need to continue playing professional basketball well into his 40s.

If he continued to produce assists at this pace, he would need at least five more seasons to reach Stockton, something that seems unlikely considering he’s already 39-years of age.

The historic dime in which he passed Jason Kidd happened last night during the Point God’s third assist of the 121-116 win against New Orleans, when he directed the ball into teammate Victor Wembanyama’s hands, who dropped in a 25-foot three-pointer. “Vic had been out a few games,” Chris said postgame. “He came back just in time.”