Almost None of Chris Paul’s Clippers Teammates Showed up at His Halloween Party

ESPN Senior Writer Ramona Shelburne revealed that only three of Chris Paul's Clippers teammates turned up for his Halloween party.

Almost None of Chris Paul’s Clippers Teammates Showed up at His Halloween Party

Chris Paul (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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No player deserves to be disrespected by a club like the way Chris Paul was by the Los Angeles Clippers. Arguably one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game of basketball, Paul has always been a leader on and off the court wherever he went. The guard had returned to the Clippers during the offseason for a second stint. Paul spent some of the best years of his 20-year career with the Clippers from 2011-17.

During his time with the Clippers, Chris Paul was joined by former number one pick Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and the trio formed the popular “Lob City”. Paul gave relevance to a franchise that was always looked down upon by its cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. With still no championships to their name, it does not look like that is going to change anytime soon.

What disappointed the NBA world was the manner in which Paul was cut off. But that is the reality of the NBA. A lot of the decisions made are not in the players’ hands, just like the blockbuster Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade from last season. It was a disappointing and anticlimactic ending, as just a week before being waived off, Paul had announced that the 2025-26 campaign would be the final chapter of his illustrious career.

Several reports have been coming out since Pauls’ unceremonious exit that the relationship between the 40-year-old and head coach Ty Lue was completely broken. Then there was a rift with the Clippers coaching staff as well involving Kawhi Leonard.

ESPN Insider Ramona Shelburne unveiled some new details about a Halloween party hosted by the veteran guard.

Some of the things early on — like, he threw a Halloween party, and then… no one came. After that, they get worked the first night in Utah, which makes this even sadder. Like, seriously — a Halloween party, and maybe three players showed up. I think Brad [Bradley Beal] came, and [Ivica] Zubac. Chris is trying to be like, ‘I’m going to help you build some culture. I’ll bring guys over to my house. Let’s work out together. Let’s have a Halloween party.’

It appears that Paul’s style of leadership did not resonate well with his Clippers teammates and they were not interested in following Paul’s way of doing things.

Chris Paul’s second unit outplayed the starters

While Paul may have been 40 years old and in the final season of his career, that did not mean he would take his foot off the gas. The 12-time NBA All-Star still made sure that he and his teammates always played to their highest standards.

Chris Paul
Chris Paul (Image credits – BBC)

In his second stint with the Clippers, Paul was restricted to a bench role. He averaged 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per game. During training camp, Paul was the leader of the second unit and had reportedly outplayed the starters regularly. Clippers forward John Collins, who was a part of the second unit, was quoted as saying:

We were kicking their a**. Every day, we were kicking [the starters’] a**.

Things began to get complicated as Paul’s influence and voice grew within the squad, something that did not sit well with the others.

What is next for the Clippers?

With every passing game, the season goes from bad to worse for the Clippers. The club find themselves in the 14th spot of the Western Conference standings with an abysmal 6-20 record despite the likes of Leonard and James Harden playing. They are currently in the middle of a four-game losing streak.

Since Paul’s exit, the club have gone 1-4 in their five games, which shows that the guard was not to blame for their poor performances. Hence, it was unfair of the Clippers management to let go of their legend, who just wanted the franchise to do better and held everyone accountable.

There have been calls for the Clippers to shut down their season as the chances of making it to the playoffs get slimmer and slimmer. A reset may not be a bad idea as the franchise do not even have any important picks heading forward.

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