Chris Paul announces retirement from NBA after 21 seasons - ESPN

Chris Paul announced his retirement from the NBA via a social media post Friday.

The «Point God» had previously said he would retire at the end of this season, his 21st NBA campaign.

«This is it! After 21 years I'm stepping away from basketball,» Paul wrote on Instagram.

Paul, 40, is a 12-time All-Star, an 11-time member of All-NBA teams, a nine-time All-Defensive teams member, the 2006 Rookie of the Year, two-time Olympic gold medalist and a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

He was waived by the Toronto Raptors on Friday after being traded from the LA Clippers on February 4. The Raptors did not require Paul to report to the team and had looked to move him before the trade deadline.

The Raptors knew Paul would never play in Toronto, and that begged the question about whether the Wake Forest legend would try to finish the season with another team in pursuit of the thing he never got — an NBA title.

The answer came Friday. He's done. He said last summer that he has hated missing events with his children over the last few years, and now he can devote himself much more to his family and other interests.

«It's time for me to show up for others and in other ways,» Paul wrote.

Paul strongly hinted earlier this season that this year was going to be his last. He was a four-time All-NBA first team selection, and he ranks second in NBA history with 12,552 assists and 2,728 steals. He was the first player to score at least 20,000 points while recording at least 10,000 assists; LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have both since done that as well.

Paul made the announcement on the first day of the NBA's All-Star weekend at the home of the Clippers in Inglewood, California.

Paul and the Clippers abruptly agreed to part ways in