Chris Paul is preparing for his 21st year in the NBA, a number few have reached. Now 40 years old, he is rejoining a Clippers team that he previously played six seasons for. CP3 has switched teams more than a handful of times in his entire career. There has been a common theme that occurs in his first year with a new team. This Chris Paul stat is a good omen for Los Angeles.
Chris Paul Stat Throughout Career Is Good Omen For Clippers
Paul Always Sees Team Improve When He Joins
Spending last season for the Spurs, Paul will begin his second Clippers tenure in 2025-26. The six-foot point guard has donned the jersey of seven teams in his career. Every time, that team has seen their record improve from the previous season in Paul’s first year for them.
Selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the fourth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Paul joined a team that went 18-64 in 2004-05. In his rookie year, they improved to 38-44.
Here are all the other instances of Paul joining a new team. The first year is the year before Paul joined that club. The second year is his first with that squad.
Los Angeles Clippers
- 2010-11: 32-50
- 2011-12: 40-26
Houston Rockets
- 2016-17: 55-27
- 2017-18: 65-17
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2018-19: 49-33
- 2019-20: 44-28
Phoenix Suns
- 2019-20: 34-39
- 2020-21: 51-21
Golden State Warriors
- 2022-23: 44-38
- 2023-24: 46-36
San Antonio Spurs
- 2023-24: 22-60
- 2024-25: 34-48
Now, OKC had five less wins in Paul’s year with them than the previous season, but that was in 10 less games. Thus, they had a higher winning percentage in Paul’s year. Including his rookie year, he now has seen his team improve in his first year for them on seven instances. Can Paul help make it happen for an eighth time in the upcoming season?
Clippers Last Season
Last year, the Clippers exceeded everyone’s preseason expectations as they finished with a 50-32 record. They entered the Western Conference playoffs as the fifth seed, where they lost a hard-fought seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets in the opening round.
As of this writing, LAC has an over/under win total of 47.5 according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Of course if the trend of what has happened during Paul’s career continues, taking the over would be the way to go.
While the Clippers are certainly an older team, they are a deep one as well. This offseason has seen them add Bradley Beal, Brook Lopez, John Collins, as well as Paul. They are added to a team that is returning Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac, who is coming off his best season. Other players who are likely to have a large role that remain on the Clippers include Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, and Derrick Jones Jr.
Of course, the West is very deep, so getting to 51 wins (one more than last season) won’t be easy. Even with someone like Leonard who will need days off due to injury or rest, the Clippers look like they will be able to handle player absences just as much, if not more, than any other team.
Photo credit: © Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The post Chris Paul Stat Throughout Career Is Good Omen For Clippers appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.