Hawks Fans Loudly Chanted ‘Where’s Chris Paul?’ During Clippers’ First Game Without Guard

Atlanta fans did not let L.A. off easy.

The Clippers were in Atlanta to play the Hawks at the time of the announcement. / Bleacher Report / Screensho

If the Clippers thought NBA fans would let them play in peace on Wednesday night, just hours after the team unceremoniously parted ways with Chris Paul, they were sorely mistaken.

Indeed, the crowd at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, where the Clippers were playing the Hawks, did not let the team off the hook easily at all, as a group of attendees loudly chanted “Where’s Chris Paul?” while the game unfolded on the court.

Take a listen/look at that trolling below:

Hawks fans chanting “WHERE’S CHRIS PAUL?” at Clippers 😬

This is the Clippers’ first game without Paul after he was released pic.twitter.com/fPrTKNwsNE

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 4, 2025

In perhaps the biggest shock of the NBA season so far, the Clippers announced early Wednesday morning that they would be parting ways with the veteran Paul, who then confirmed the news himself on Instagram. Although the franchise legend only signed a one-year deal with the team over the offseason, much was made of his decision to return “home,” as it were, as he is arguably the most famous Clipper in history and planned to retire with the team at the end of this campaign.

Multiple reports have since claimed that Paul’s leadership style clashed with both players and the front office, and that he and coach Ty Lue had not been on speaking terms for multiple weeks, despite Paul’s alleged attempts to fix that. In his first public comments on the situation on Wednesday evening, Lue said he thinks the Clippers weren’t “a good fit for what [Paul] was looking for” and that “you never wanna see a great go out like this.”

Although the Clippers won in Atlanta, the team was on a five-game losing streak heading into the contest; their record for the year is so far 6–16. To that end, Paul”s leadership was said to involve “holding guys accountable” for what has so far been an abysmal run.

For his part, Paul had been averaging 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists off the bench in 14.3 minutes per game. And as for his future, it remains to be seen how the Clippers plan to formally move on from him, whether that’s waiving him, buying him out or trading him once he becomes eligible on Dec. 15.

Hopefully, he gets the chance to end his NBA team in a better position, so long as that’s what he wants.

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