Will Chris Paul's Be the 1st Jersey the Clippers Ever Retire?

Chris Paul announced his retirement at the end of the season. Will his jersey number be retired by the LA Clippers?

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The Los Angeles Clippers are the only team in the NBA who has never retired a jersey number. After Chris Paul announcing his intent to retire at the end of the 2025-26 season, one of the first questions that popped into Clippers fans' minds was: will Paul's No. 3 be the first jersey to be retired by the franchise?

Paul's Clippers tenure remains underrated in the eye of a casual NBA fan because they weren't able to find the postseason success they were hoping for. The Clippers consistently came up short in the playoffs, mostly due to injuries, creating the narrative of disappointment for that era of Clippers basketball. In reality, however, the six-season span between 2011 and 2017 with CP3 remains the most successful period in Clippers history.

Clippers Must Retire Chris Paul's No. 3 Jersey After the Season

During that period, the Clippers won at least 60% of their games each season and made the playoffs for six straight years. Paul finished in the top-five of MVP voting in two straight seasons and made an All-NBA team in five of those six seasons. Most importantly, however, Paul changed the entire narrative around the Clippers and put the organization on a map. During his tenure there, the Clippers were the better, more exciting, and more relevant team in Los Angeles, for the first time in their history.

Paul has a very good case to be considered the best Clpper of all-time. There may have been players to reach higher peaks than Paul in a Clippers uniform (Kawhi Leonard, perhaps) but none has given more to the organization than the Point God. Paul not only lead the franchise in various all-time categories like assists and steals, but he also has the highest winning percentage in the history of the Clippers, winning 67.6% of his games (284/420).

Under Steve Ballmer, the Clippers are desperate for relevance. With significant investment, state-of-the-art facilities and arena, and desire to become a winning franchise, the Clippers want to be taken seriously. Ballmer isn't hesitant to go above and beyond to leave his mark. What better way to start building the legacy of Clippers basketball than honoring one of the all-time greats and making him the first Clipper to have his jersey retired in Intuit Dome?

If Paul's jersey doesn't go up in the rafters, then the Clippers may have to wait a long time before another player who deserves those honors come around. Once No. 3 is up there, Blake Griffin's No. 32 should be next in line, a perfect way to honor and remember the best time to be a Clippers fan.