NBA star Chris Paul provided a glimpse Tuesday about his plans after he retires from professional basketball, touching on golf, the CP3 Academy and his family foundation.
Paul, 40, didn’t provide a timeline for his retirement to nearly 4,800 people at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. He was the keynote speaker for the Face-to-Face series at Wake Forest University.
Paul, a Wake Forest alumnus, replaced Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a retired NBA star with the Los Angeles Lakers, who told university officials last Friday that he could not attend the school’s speaker series Tuesday night.
Tracy Wolfson, a CBS sports reporter and commentator, moderated the nearly 55-minute discussion with Paul in the coliseum. Wolfson asked Paul what his plans are when he retires from the NBA.
Walking away from professional basketball will be difficult for him, Paul said.
Preparing for NBA season 21
During his career, Paul has played for the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs.
He has rejoined the Clippers for the 2025-26 season – his 21st season in the NBA.
“I will see how the season goes and pay attention to my mind and body,” Paul said. “Thank God that I am still in great health. That is something that I don’t take for granted.”
Paul then pointed to his hands, saying that he has had five hand surgeries throughout his NBA career. Paul has a total of 31 screws and metal plates surgically placed in both hands, and he has undergone surgery on both thumbs, he said.
Paul also had surgery performed on his knee and wrist, and he has a surgically placed screw in his foot.
“It’s been a long journey,” Paul said. “I’m training like crazy. But I would be lying saying that I’m not tired.”
A graduate of West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, Paul played two years at Wake Forest. Paul is a 12-time NBA All-Star and a two-time Olympic Gold medalist, according to his biography.
Paul wants to pursue his business interests and spend more time with his family members who sacrificed for Paul during his career, he said.
Tomorrow Golf League, Angel City FC
Paul said he wants to continue work with the Tomorrow Golf League, where he’s an investor, and continue a limited partnership with Jupiter Links Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla, and part-ownership of the Angel City FC soccer team.
An avid golfer, Paul said he wished he had loved golf as a student at Wake Forest.
He also said that he loves sports, and Paul wants to pursue ownership of an NBA and a WNBA franchise.
“I’ve been in the NBA more than half of my life,” Paul said. “That’s crazy.”
Paul also talked about his CP3 Academy, which is based in Winston-Salem. He said the academy provides a safe place for children to play sports, especially basketball.
“When I see playing at the facility – that’s the most fulfilling thing for me,” Paul said.
Wolfson pointed out that NBA teams have drafted 13 participants from the academy.
“That’s impressive,” Wolfson said.
“I’m grateful to be part of their dreams,” Paul said.
He also said he wants to continue his work with his Chris Paul Family Foundation.
‘My granddad had my back’
Paul began the discussion with Wolfson by talking about when he signed his letter of intent to attend Wake Forest on a basketball scholarship on Nov. 14, 2002. At that time, Paul was 17 and lived in Lewisville.
The next day, on Nov. 15, 2002, Paul received a phone call that his grandfather, Nathaniel Jones, 61, had been murdered.
“My grandfather was my road dog,” Paul said fondly of Nathaniel Jones. “My granddad had my back.”
Nathaniel Jones’ funeral was held on Nov. 19, 2002, and the entire men’s basketball team at Wake Forest attended the service even though Paul wasn’t yet a team member.
“That’s something that I will never forget,” Paul told the audience.
The next day, on Nov. 20, Paul played in West Forsyth’s basketball game against Parkland High School. Paul scored 61 points, one for every year of his grandfather’s life.
In his book, “Sixty-One: Life Lessons From Papa, On and Off The Court,” Paul and Michael Wilborn, a sportswriter and an ESPN sports commentator, detailed Paul’s life story.
Paul’s appearance at Joel Coliseum occurred about six weeks after a judge overturned the convictions of four men in the 2002 killing of Jones.
Paul and Wolfson didn’t talk about the case on Tuesday night. In his book, Paul wrote that he believed the four men convicted in his grandfather’s murder case were guilty, but he thought their sentences were too long.
Paul’s family members have maintained that four men were also guilty.
jhinton@wsjournal.com
336-727-7299
@jhintonWSJ
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