Paul was a McDonald's All-American in high school and attended Wake Forest University for two years of college basketball, where he helped the Demon Deacons achieve their first-ever number-one ranking.

Led by Paul's playmaking, the Clippers developed a reputation for their fast-paced offense and spectacular alley-oop dunks, earning them the nickname "Lob City".

[16] Paul finished the season with averages of 30.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and 6.0 steals per game, leading West Forsyth to a 27–3 record and the Class 4A Eastern Regional finals.

[32] With final averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game,[33] he was named NBA Rookie of the Year, falling just one vote shy of winning the award unanimously.

[53] With the luxury of Paul playing a full season, the Hornets qualified for the playoffs and were matched up with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

[57] Nevertheless, New Orleans were eliminated in six games,[54] and ownership, fearing that Paul would leave the franchise via free agency, began actively pursuing a trade that would provide the team equitable compensation in return for his services.

[60][61] On December 12, the Hornets agreed to a trade sending Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers, but the deal broke down after the NBA added additional demands to the original terms.

[68] Paul finished the year averaging 19.8 points, 9.1 assists, and 2.5 steals per game,[33] becoming the first Clipper to be named to the All-NBA First Team since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.

[69] Behind his play and the emergence of Griffin as an All-NBA performer, Los Angeles qualified for the playoffs, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals.

[33] In Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs, he hit a career postseason-high eight three-pointers to help the Clippers take an early series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[88] On June 28, 2017, Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Lou Williams, Kyle Wiltjer, a future first-round pick, and cash considerations.

Paul, who was interested in playing alongside superstar guard James Harden, opted into the final year of his existing contract to facilitate the trade.

Their success was primarily driven by Paul and Harden, who assumed playmaking duties while role players such as Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, and P. J. Tucker provided floor spacing with three-point shooting.

[99] In Game 5 of the series, Paul scored a career playoff-high 41 points along with eight three-pointers, 10 assists, and seven rebounds en route to a series-clinching victory over the Jazz.

[109] In the conference semifinals, the Rockets again found themselves matched up with Golden State, but could not close out the series despite the Warriors' primary scorer, Kevin Durant, missing the final two games.

Despite speculation that the Thunder would try to move on from Paul immediately, he embraced his role as a veteran leader of the team, which earned him praise from coach Billy Donovan.

[115] Following a break in the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunder eventually finished as the fifth seed in the conference, earning them a matchup with Paul's old team, the Houston Rockets, in the first round of the playoffs.

[117] Although the Thunder would ultimately lose Game 7 and be eliminated from the postseason,[118] Sports Illustrated deemed Paul's tenure with the team a success and opined that he had reestablished himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA.

[119] On November 16, 2020, the Thunder traded Paul and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 protected first-round pick.

[127] In Game 4, Paul scored 37 points on a 74 percent shooting (14-of-19) alongside seven assists in a 125–118 victory, leading the Suns to a 4–0 series sweep over the Nuggets for their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2010.

[146] On February 10, Paul tied his season-high 19 assists with 17 points and seven rebounds as he led the Suns to a 131–107 victory against the Bucks in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals.

On March 24, Paul returned from a broken right wrist to help the Suns wrap up the top seed in the NBA playoffs with a 140–130 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

[149] On April 5, after Phoenix's 121–110 win over the Lakers, Paul became the first player in NBA history to be part of four teams to set a franchise record for victories in a single season.

[150][151] In Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Paul scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter along with seven rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals on 12-of-16 shooting from the field in a 110–99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

[155] On May 2, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Paul moved past Tony Parker for fifth all-time in career playoff assists in a 121–114 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

[167] Twelve days later, the Wizards sent Paul to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, and two draft picks.

[169] On October 29, Paul came off the bench for the first time in his NBA career, ending his NBA-record streak of 1,365 consecutive games started, in a 106–95 win over the Houston Rockets.

[181][67] In his 2014 NBA preview, ESPN's Kevin Pelton called Paul the league's best point guard, adding, "a title he's held throughout his career when healthy.

[182] He creates scoring opportunities by constantly changing speeds; upon beating his defender one-on-one or shedding him in the pick-and-roll, he will often slow down and box him out, denying him from regaining front side position and forcing the defense to help at all times.

[200] He has hosted and participated in numerous celebrity and youth bowling events as the head of the CP3 Foundation, which benefits programs in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina, as well as charities in Winston-Salem.