You hear a lot of athletes talk about retiring, walking away from the game on their own, and just knowing when it’s over for them.
Rarely do the athletes that make those proclamations follow through. Barry Sanders retired early, and didn’t give one hint to being ready.
Being a good father and husband is high on Chris Paul’s priority list, and during an interview with Real Sports set to air Tuesday night, Paul talks about possibly walking away from the game a little earlier than expected, to spend time with his family.
“I love to play basketball more than anybody,” Paul said. “I’m serious, nobody loves to play basketball more than I do. But I could honestly see myself maybe stopping a little early or premature just because I hate to miss anything with my kids. I would hate for my kids to recall those special moments in their life, and I wasn’t there.”
So what exactly is a little early?
Well Paul did just sign a five year $107 million extension to stay with the Clippers, so I can’t see it happening any earlier than that.
When the deal is finished, Paul will be 33. The off-season of 2017 could get interesting.