Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, Paul has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists five times and steals a record six times. He has also been selected to twelve NBA All-Star teams, eleven All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He also served as the president of the National Basketball Players Association from 2013 to 2021. Among the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Jordan Brand and State Farm.

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. He was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, where he developed into one of the league's best players, finishing second in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2008. During the 2011 offseason, the Hornets organized a deal to send Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the transaction was controversially voided by the NBA. He was instead dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers later that year. 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".

In 2017, Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he helped the team win a franchise-record 65 games in his debut season. He played one more season in Houston before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a package for Russell Westbrook in 2019. With the Thunder looking to rebuild, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2020, where he reached the NBA Finals for the first time in his career in 2021. The following season, he helped the team win a franchise-record 64 games. After three seasons in Phoenix, Paul was traded away and landed on the Golden State Warriors.