Chris Paul may be the latest entrant into the NBA-to-television pipeline.
The 12-time NBA All-Star Paul officially announced his retirement as a player on Friday in a heartfelt post. Paul is calling it a day after 21 total seasons in the NBA.
Later in the day on Friday, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Paul may now be going into broadcasting (with ESPN viewed as the favorite to hire Paul if he does). Marchand further notes that Paul has a close relationship with Disney CEO Bob Iger, though NBC and Amazon Prime Video may show interest in Paul as a broadcaster as well.
The 40-year-old Paul does already have history with ESPN. He previously served as a guest analyst for the network during their playoff coverage a couple of years ago.
Nicknamed “The Point God,” Paul leaves behind an illustrious legacy in the NBA (albeit without a championship ring to show for it). In addition to his 12 All-Star selections, Paul was a 11-time All-NBA honoree, a nine-time All-Defensive Teamer, a six-time NBA steals leader, and a five-time NBA assists leader. Overall on his career, Paul averaged 16.8 points and 9.2 assists per game across seven different teams.
Many believe that the longtime point guard Paul could make a natural transition into coaching, a possibility that Paul himself has even hinted at in the recent past. But it sounds like Paul’s more immediate move may be to take his talents to the studio and become a full-time analyst, possibly for ESPN.
