LeBron James and Chris Paul are currently two of the oldest active players in the NBA. At age 40, both of them are riding out the tail ends of their career in different ways. While James still seems nowhere close to retiring this season, Chris Paul confirmed earlier this season that this year would be his farewell tour, and he will be retiring at its end.
Following the Lakers’ nervy 108-106 win over the Jazz, James spoke to the media about Chris Paul and gave his veteran friend his due flowers. James had earlier reacted on social media to this news, but now he opened up a bit in depth on what he felt about Paul.
“Happiness, he should be as happy as he possibly can. You don’t want to look back when you’re done, like, ‘I was angry and couldn’t take advantage of that last year,” said James to the Lakers’ media scrum, when asked how he hopes Paul feels in his final season.
“I know he’s happy being back in LA with his family. Seeing a little of CP, seeing his daughter, seeing what they’re doing, I know that’s pretty special to him. Hope he can just get joy out of this final year. Like you said, we’ve known each other forever, so hell of a player, hell of a career.”
“I can go on and on and on, but it’s awesome, I mean, he has nothing to hang his head about. He’s done pretty much everything this league has to offer. I hope he takes it all in. This is his last hurrah, so we’ll never get this moment again once you’re done, to be able to go out and be in the arena,” said James in conclusion.
In the games that James has played against Paul, he has averaged 24.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 7.6 assists, while shooting 51% from the field. Meanwhile, Chris Paul averaged 15.5 points, 9.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds, while shooting 43.8% from the field.
Surprisingly, through the two decades that these two legends have faced each other, Chris Paul is actually ahead in terms of their head-to-head record in the regular season (18-17).
Moreover, they have only faced each other in one series in the playoffs, where Chris Paul once again came ahead. In 2021, the Suns faced the Lakers in the postseason, where Paul’s team came out 4-2 ahead to proceed to the next round against James’ side.
While Chris Paul may have never won a championship, his record in all-time against a legend like James is a testament to his greatness and longitude in the league.
James finished the game against the Jazz with 17 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and one steal while shooting 44.4% from the field. The Lakers are now headed home to the Crypto Arena to face Chris Paul and the Clippers on Tuesday, November 25. That will be the first of four meetings between the two sides this regular season.
Considering that it would most likely be the last four meetings between these two players if either of the teams doesn’t end up qualifying for the postseason, we anticipate some showtime basketball and intense competitiveness for one final time on the court between these two this season.
