Chris Paul's announcement Friday that he is retiring from the NBA starts the clock on his eventual enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Though Paul's career is missing a championship, the fact that he never won the NBA Finals will have no bearing on his Hall of Fame candidacy. Over a 21-year career, Paul earned 12 All-Star selections and 11 All-NBA nods. He led the NBA in assists five times and led the league in steals in six separate seasons; he is second in league history in total steals as well as total assists.
There is no doubt: Paul is getting into the Hall of Fame. But when will he receive the call to join hundreds of other legendary players and executives in Springfield, Massachusetts?
MORE: Clippers legend Chris Paul makes final announcement on retirement
Paul will be eligible by 2030
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement process requires a player to have been retired for four full seasons before they merit consideration to enter the Hall.
That means Paul should be eligible for enshrinement in the class of 2030. He must sit out all of the 2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30 seasons, according to the Hall's eligibility rules -- though the Hall reviews "on an individual basis" players who come out of retirement or, in Paul's case, retire midseason.
As one of the greatest players -- not just point guards -- of his era, Paul is widely expected to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee.
Paul's potential enshrinement class could be loaded with talent. For example, if LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were to retire after this season, they would join Paul in the class of 2030.
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