Chris Paul has made a decision about his basketball future. 

On Friday, the likely future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer announced he would step away from the NBA after the Toronto Raptors waived the 40-year-old guard.

“It’s time for me to show up for others and in other ways,” Paul wrote in an Instagram post. “This last season, I knew I couldn’t do it unless I was at home with my family.”

Paul re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers over the summer, but the team sent him home in December. He landed in Toronto via a three-team trade last week but never took the court for the Raptors.

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Paul walks away from professional basketball with more than 20,000 points and 10,000 assists, the first player in NBA history to reach those totals. He was named to 12 All-Star teams and earned All-NBA honors 11 times in his storied career.

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The North Carolina native is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, helping Team USA achieve glory in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.

Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers jogs off court during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Intuit Dome Nov. 29, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Paul’s first stint with the Clippers began in 2011, when he played alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The trio helped lead Los Angeles to six consecutive playoff appearances. He returned to the franchise for what was widely viewed as his final NBA season, a full-circle moment that could have capped his career.

Paul appeared in just 16 games in his second stint with the Clippers and averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. He did play in all 82 games during his lone season with the San Antonio Spurs in 2024-25.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) celebrates a basket in the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis March 8, 2017. (Brad Rempel/USA Today Sports)

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Paul made his NBA debut with the New Orleans Hornets, who were later renamed the Pelicans. Aside from his time with the Clippers and Spurs, Paul also played for the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.

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Prices of flights and hotel bookings to Colombo, Sri Lanka, have soared as thousands of fans flock to the city to watch India play Pakistan on Sunday in cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup.

The neighbouring countries and cricket rivals are due to meet during the group stage of the tournament, which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after Pakistan reversed a decision to boycott the match earlier in the week.

The game at Sri Lanka’s largest stadium is sold out with roughly 35,000 tickets sold and ahead of the match, most hotels in Colombo have doubled their prices — the cost of a room has climbed as high as $660 a night from a typical price tag of about $100-$150 per night, multiple booking sites showed.

After the match was finalised this week, last-minute bookings led to fuller flights from major cities like Chennai and Delhi, according to three Colombo travel agencies.

Flights from Chennai, which is about one and a half hours away, have more than tripled to around $623 — $756 while flights from Delhi are up more than 50% to roughly $666.

Nalin Jayasundera, President of Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said hotels were booked out. “Most fans are coming on all-inclusive packages that could be $1,500-$2000 or even higher depending on ticket, hotel, and flight prices,” Jayasundera said.

Tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka, famous for its ancient temples, pristine beaches, and lush tea plantations.

It is hoped that hosting more sporting events could boost Sri Lanka’s economic growth, which is recovering from a severe financial crisis and a recent cyclone, which killed 650 people.

Buddhika Hewawasam, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, told Reuters that in the first 10 days of February, roughly 20% of the 100,000 visitors to Sri Lanka were there for the Pakistan-India cricket match.

The island nation is hoping to position itself as a neutral venue for matches between political rivals.

“This is clearly showing confidence in Sri Lanka as a neutral cricket venue. Whether it’s India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, this is a welcome message to all South Asian countries that they can play cricket in Sri Lanka,” he said.

Lahore local Mian Sultan is looking forward to his trip to Sri Lanka to watch the game.

“I think it’s going to be a great experience,” said Sultan, who spent $800 on a front-row seat to watch the game alongside a friend, who is flying in from New Zealand. “I’m really excited about this match.”

Sultan added he thought Pakistan “absolutely” could come out on top on Sunday.