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New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Chris Paul returns to Clippers to make history, not relive past glory
This is a basketball story. But I have to start with hip-hop. You see, a new album can serve a lot of areas, even if it's from an older performer. New work will have you recalling past brilliance while proving they can still get it done. Clipse, a hip-hop duo from Virginia formed by brothers Pusha T and Malice, reunited and put out its first album in 16 years with the release of 'Let God Sort Em Out' this month. It was produced by Pharrell Williams, who, along with The Neptunes, helped produce Clipse's first three albums, starting with 'Lord Willin'' back in 2002. Advertisement Old conflicts had to be resolved for this album to happen. Old love for the game had to be replenished. Themes of appreciation, having no regrets, and giving flowers while they can still smell them were explored. Also, the brothers can rap. And they in turn keep the art of rap accountable. So be it, so be it. Let me transition from Clipse to Clips. As in the LA Clippers, a team that added future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul to a group that already had seven players over 30. Paul turned 40 in May and is about to play his 21st NBA season. And as Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank put it, Paul will slot in as a high quality 'reserve point guard' with a clear understanding of his role. This is a full circle moment for Paul and the Clippers. LA first acquired him in 2011, at the end of a fourth straight season of at least 50 losses. When LA traded former lottery picks Chris Kaman (2003), Eric Gordon (2008) and Al-Farouq Aminu (2010) along with a future first-round pick that became Austin Rivers to the New Orleans Hornets for Paul, the Clippers had a total of six winning seasons in 41 years as an NBA franchise. They had never won 60 percent of their games before 2011. The Clippers won at least 60 percent of their games in all of Paul's six seasons with the franchise. He had an infamous run, but when it was over in 2017, he could have opted out of the final year of his contract and entered unrestricted free agency. Instead, he opted in, initiating a trade to join James Harden and the Houston Rockets. That 2017 trade netted the Clippers Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell. And as Frank noted, the Clippers are still benefitting from that trade when you consider subsequent trades, right down to the acquisition of John Collins this summer. LA has the league's longest active streak of winning seasons at 14, and that is largely possible because of Paul. 📰 @TheAthletic Chris Paul reunites with the LA Clippers, years after the original CP3 trade that set the franchise on a maiden course towards winning and another CP3 trade that still benefits the Clippers to this very day — Law Murray 🎡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 21, 2025 'When Chris exited, we worked together,' Frank said. 'When he decided to go to Houston, Chris helped us in the sense of turning it into a sign-and-trade, and it really helped us transition. I mean obviously, Chris had great history, great six years with us. Being an All-Star each year, All-NBA five of those six years, making the playoffs each of those years. And yet the ability to get the return we got from Houston helped us get to where we're at now.' Advertisement So why do the Clippers need Chris Paul? It begins with the basketball. No, really, the actual basketball. I wrote three weeks ago about how Paul makes sense as a player who has always valued taking care of the basketball. The Clippers were 23rd in the NBA last season in turnover percentage and assist-turnover ratio. Paul finished 8th in the NBA in assists per game with 7.4 and averaged only 1.6 turnovers. That's an assist-turnover ratio of 4.69, which trailed only Tyrese Haliburton (5.61) and Tyus Jones (4.71) among the 253 players who appeared in at least 20 games and played at least 20 minutes per game last season. Compare that with Harden, who had an assist-turnover ratio of 2.01, which ranked 106th. When Paul, who started all 82 games for the San Antonio Spurs last season, was on the floor, 13 percent of the Spurs' possessions ended in a turnover, which is the equivalent to a team ranking third in the NBA. When Paul was off the floor, the Spurs had a turnover percentage of 14.5, which is the equivalent to a team ranking 18th. 'We know that ballhandling was a little bit of an issue for us last year,' Frank said. 'Ballhandling and playmaking were areas we wanted to address this offseason. When we were at our best, we were taking care of the ball. And Chris takes care of the ball and runs an offense about as well as anyone who's ever done it.' Paul is the Point God. He provides discipline. He provides structure. When Paul gets point/assist double-doubles, he can do it without a turnover, something he's done 45 times (13 more than John Stockton, who is next on that list, per Stathead). As Damian Lillard was reintroduced by the Portland Trail Blazers this week, Portland head coach and former Paul Clippers teammate Chauncey Billups said that Lillard is 'going to be the highest paid assistant coach in league history.' Paul might as well be the second-highest paid assistant coach. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue certainly could use someone else to yell at Harden instead of Harden averaging the third-most turnovers in the league again. And though Paul and Harden didn't end things well in Houston after two seasons, Harden played a role in Paul's return to LA, along with Leonard. Advertisement 'James has been a huge part of this offseason,' said Frank. 'When talking to James, talking to Kawhi, and we talked about the role … both guys said CP would be the best guy for this role. James is all about winning and obviously Chris and him played together in Houston. They got within a game of the NBA Finals in 2018. What James talked about with Chris was his ability to see the floor like few others, the leadership skills he brings, the competitiveness, and his everyday work ethic and approach.' Chris Paul needs the Clippers. He's been in five cities over these last eight years. The Clipper fan base, one that has been treated to arguably the most ahistorical franchise in the league, gets to celebrate Paul once again. And Paul's first tenure with the Clippers showed him what it means to have star players come to the Clippers near or at the end of their careers — Billups, Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, Antawn Jamison, Danny Granger and Hedo Turkoglu spent their final or penultimate season with the Clippers. Just like Malice has been both Mason Bethas, Chris Paul has been both Paul Pierces now: he was a superstar now in the twilight of his career with the Clippers. Paul replaces Patty Mills, who replaced the disgruntled PJ Tucker in February. The difference between Mills and Tucker was striking. Tucker didn't want to be on the team and, after he opted into $11 million last summer, LA leadership decided to keep him away from the team until he was traded. When Mills arrived, he was able to contribute positively to the Clippers locker room, even serving as the director of vibes. The Clippers aren't a whole lot older than last year's team. Bradley Beal is a month younger than Norman Powell, John Collins is three months younger than Amir Coffey and rookies Yanic Konan Niederhäuser and Kobe Sanders replace Drew Eubanks and Seth Lundy, respectively. Brook Lopez, 37, replaces Ben Simmons, 29. But Paul, Collins, and Lopez replace three players (Mills, Coffey, Simmons) who are still unsigned at this point of free agency, and they may be reserves on the Clippers after being starters for their teams last season. The Clippers getting older with Paul and Lopez belies the fact that the Clippers are now Pacific Ocean's Eleven: a group of established players who were productive last season and who can help keep each other's minutes and workload down in the rare instances where the team is fully healthy. Lue has a deeper, more versatile roster at his disposal. Paul and Lopez, in particular, represent players (a traditional backup point guard and center) the Clippers didn't have last season, especially in the playoffs against Denver. LA Clippers offseason, updated… Noah's ark, at least two of all they need — Law Murray 🎡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 21, 2025 'Everyone's entitled in terms of the judgments they want to make on the group,' Frank said. 'We're super excited about the group, and I think part of the thing with age that typically people worry about (is) increased chance for injury. That's why we lean into the depth. … The nature of any NBA team, let alone an older one, is that you may have more injuries than others. Now some of our older guys have been very, very durable, so knock on wood. Hopefully that maintains. But if not, we do have great faith in the roster and having depth across the board. Lue will need to carefully manage his rotation's minutes, but Paul, Nicolas Batum and Lopez should play the least while LA hopes Leonard, Beal, Collins and Bogdan Bogdanović are healthier (none of them played 60 games in 2024-25). The player who needs the most management, and the one Paul was brought here for as insurance, is Harden. He played 2,789 minutes in the regular season at age 35 and he was an All-Star and an All-NBA selection. That's only the 34th season in NBA history by a player who played at least 2,700 minutes at age 35 or older. Advertisement The only players who followed up a season with that kind of workload at that age and made an All-Star appearance the following season are Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (1973 Lakers), John Havlicek (1978 Celtics), Artis Gilmore (1986 Spurs), Robert Parish (1990 Celtics), Karl Malone (2001 and 2002 Jazz), Jason Kidd (2010 Mavericks) and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant (2025 Suns). None of those players were guards responsible for both scoring and primary playmaking. With Paul, the Clippers have eight players who are older than 30. Can an old team win it all? Certainly. The 1998 Bulls were led by Michael Jordan, who began the Last Dance at the same age (34) that Leonard will be next season. Jordan was joined by two other starters older than 30 (Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper) and five reserves who were 30 or older by the end of June 1998 (Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington, Randy Brown, Jud Buechler). The 2011 Mavericks were led by 32-year-old Dirk Nowitzki, who was joined in the starting lineup by four other 30-plus starters (Kidd, Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson). That Dallas team had four reserves on the playoff roster older than 30 (Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, Brendan Haywood, Brian Cardinal), and that didn't include injured 31-year-old Caron Butler, who was the second-leading scorer in the starting lineup when his season ended in January due to a knee injury. The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, coached by Lue, were led by 31-year-old LeBron James, who was joined in the starting lineup by 30-year-old JR Smith. Cleveland's bench in the playoffs had seven players 30 or older (Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, James Jones, Dahntay Jones, Sasha Kaun). None of these teams are perfect correlations. Every team is trying to win a championship. They're all flawed, even the team that won it last year and will win it this year. If the Clippers signed recent first-round picks to fill out the roster (like they did last year with Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba) instead of older and better players like Paul and Lopez, then they would be criticized for not giving themselves the best opportunity to win. Frank put the roster together and he's going to let Lue sort them out. Paul is here to be a part of the puzzle, and it's a smaller part than he's used to. Paul has seen it all, and he's about to see The Wall. But the Clips aren't just here to collect veterans and have sweet moments. They're trying to put the best product out there and win. And so is Paul. 'There's the heartstrings part of it, of someone who was such a significant part of the Clippers' rise, to be able to bring it back,' said Frank. 'Whether this is his last year or not, that's obviously Chris's story in terms of what he feels and what he wants. But I think number one is his ability to help impact winning. And then the secondary was someone who's been so important to the franchise, to be able to bring him back in the fold.' (Photo of Chris Paul waving: Michael Gonzales / NBAE via Getty Images)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LeBron James continues Drake feud with Tyler The Creator music video cameo
LeBron James made a subtle hint in his ongoing feud with former friend Drake. The Los Angeles Lakers star made a cameo in Tyler, The Creator's latest music video "Stop Playing With Me" off of Tyler's new album, Don't Tap The Glass, which was released on Monday (July 21). In addition to LeBron's cameo, Tyler also enlists two artists,rappers (and brothers) Malice and Pusha T — known collectively as Clipse in the music video. While LeBron has not said anything about there being tension with Drizzy, Pusha has been very open over the years about his dislike of the Canadian rapper. The song itself doesn't mention Drake, but just that Tyler is not going to let anyone mess with him. The two-time Grammy winner raps, "F*** you and your mom, stop playing with me / F*** you and your dreams, stop playing with me." Drake mentions LeBron in new song "What Did I Miss?" LeBron's cameo follows Drake's frustration with friends who decided to support Kendrick Lamar at his Juneteenth 'Pop Out and Show' concert last year. "I saw bro in the Pop Out with them, but been d***riding gang since 'Headlines,'' Drake raps, referring to Kendrick's show and his 2011 hit, "Headlines." To be fair, DeMar DeRozan and The Weekend were also in attendance at the Pop Out last year, so the line most likely is in reference to not only LeBron but two people he has had a close relationship to over the years. Earlier this month, Drake covered up a tattoo of LeBron's St. Vincent-St. Mary High School jersey with a tattoo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's jersey, which further fueled rumors between the two. MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS Paige Bueckers gushes over girlfriend Azzi Fudd at 2025 ESPYs Serena Williams shows off her toned physique in blue bikini Livvy Dunne reveals painful reason she gave up on Olympic dream Shaquille O'Neal's son Shareef reveals his actual favorite NBA player
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LeBron James Makes Cameo in New Tyler, the Creator Music Video as Rapper's Album Drops Monday
If you blink, you might miss Lebron James' cameo in Tyler, the Creator's new music video. In the music video for the rapper's song "STOP PLAYING WITH ME" released on Monday, July 21, Tyler, 34, dances around a room surrounded by two giant speakers and crumpled newspaper blowing around. He also speaks directly to the camera, wearing a leathery sweatsuit with a furry collar and blue rubber gloves. A blue and red poster that reads "NO GLASS TAPPING" can be seen in the background, referring to his new album title, DON'T TAP THE GLASS, which dropped Monday. At a couple of points in the short but high-energy music video, the Los Angeles Lakers star and his business partner Maverick Carter could be seen nodding their heads along to the beat. "F40, this the brand-new coupe/Stuff it with bitches, it's what the f--- I do/Caught the plane with Mav, Bron there too," Tyler raps in the second verse of the song when the duo appear. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. James, 40, wore a pixelated patterned denim jacket and matching bucket hat covering his eyes — but the 6'9" NBA star is admittedly hard to miss. "STOP FKN PLAYING WITH ME!!!! 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤," James posted on X to celebrate Tyler's music video. Days before, he seemed to have teased a collaboration with the rapper. "👀 LFG!!!!! 😤😤😤😤," he wrote, quoting Tyler's X post about July 21. Pusha T and Malice of the rap duo Clipse also have cameos in the video. Tyler posted about DON'T TAP THE GLASS on Instagram on July 21, reflecting on how the album should encourage movement, like it did during his listening party. "I asked some friends why they don't dance in public and some said because of the fear of being filmed," he began. "I thought, damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost. It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme all for having a good time." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! "I just got back from a 'listening party' for this album and man it was one of the greatest nites of my life. 300 people, no phones allowed, no cameras, just speakers and a sweatbox. Everyone was dancing. Moving. Expressing. Sweating. It was truly beautiful," Tyler continued. The musician, whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, said that he played the album front to back twice, and noticed how pent-up energy "finally got released," and we "carved the idea of letting more of it out." "There was a freedom that filled the room. A ball of energy that might not translate to every speaker that plays this album, but man, did that room nail it." He wrote that the album "was not made for standing still." "Any type of movement is recommended to maybe understand the spirit of it. Only at full volume." The two-time Grammy winner is wrapping up his Chromakopia Tour which kicked off in February, making stops throughout North America. Up next for him are the final stops in Montreal, Toronto and Newark. DON'T TAP THE GLASS is available to stream. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LeBron James Makes Cameo in New Tyler, the Creator Music Video as Rapper's Album Drops Monday
If you blink, you might miss Lebron James' cameo in Tyler, the Creator's new music video. In the music video for the rapper's song "STOP PLAYING WITH ME" released on Monday, July 21, Tyler, 34, dances around a room surrounded by two giant speakers and crumpled newspaper blowing around. He also speaks directly to the camera, wearing a leathery sweatsuit with a furry collar and blue rubber gloves. A blue and red poster that reads "NO GLASS TAPPING" can be seen in the background, referring to his new album title, DON'T TAP THE GLASS, which dropped Monday. At a couple of points in the short but high-energy music video, the Los Angeles Lakers star and his business partner Maverick Carter could be seen nodding their heads along to the beat. "F40, this the brand-new coupe/Stuff it with bitches, it's what the f--- I do/Caught the plane with Mav, Bron there too," Tyler raps in the second verse of the song when the duo appear. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. James, 40, wore a pixelated patterned denim jacket and matching bucket hat covering his eyes — but the 6'9" NBA star is admittedly hard to miss. "STOP FKN PLAYING WITH ME!!!! 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤," James posted on X to celebrate Tyler's music video. Days before, he seemed to have teased a collaboration with the rapper. "👀 LFG!!!!! 😤😤😤😤," he wrote, quoting Tyler's X post about July 21. Pusha T and Malice of the rap duo Clipse also have cameos in the video. Tyler posted about DON'T TAP THE GLASS on Instagram on July 21, reflecting on how the album should encourage movement, like it did during his listening party. "I asked some friends why they don't dance in public and some said because of the fear of being filmed," he began. "I thought, damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost. It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme all for having a good time." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! "I just got back from a 'listening party' for this album and man it was one of the greatest nites of my life. 300 people, no phones allowed, no cameras, just speakers and a sweatbox. Everyone was dancing. Moving. Expressing. Sweating. It was truly beautiful," Tyler continued. The musician, whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, said that he played the album front to back twice, and noticed how pent-up energy "finally got released," and we "carved the idea of letting more of it out." "There was a freedom that filled the room. A ball of energy that might not translate to every speaker that plays this album, but man, did that room nail it." He wrote that the album "was not made for standing still." "Any type of movement is recommended to maybe understand the spirit of it. Only at full volume." The two-time Grammy winner is wrapping up his Chromakopia Tour which kicked off in February, making stops throughout North America. Up next for him are the final stops in Montreal, Toronto and Newark. DON'T TAP THE GLASS is available to stream. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What Are Clipse's First-Week Sales Projections For Their New LP ‘Let God Sort Em Out'?
Clipse reuniting for their new album Let God Sort Em Out has been one of the hottest topics of 2025, in large part due to a highly active rollout, Malice returning to Hip-Hop, and Pusha T dissing multiple rappers. The first-week sales projections for their fourth studio album have hit the timeline to a myriad of reactions. The popular Billboard-tracking X page Chart Data reported, via Hits Daily Double, that the duo's latest LP is set to sell 90,000 album-equivalent units in its first week and debut at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. If that comes true, this album would tie their 2002 debut album Lord Willin' for reaching the No. 4 spot, but fall behind it at the No. 2 spot on their list of first-week sales performances throughout their career. Willin' sold 122,000 album-equivalent units in large part due to their classic single 'Grindin'.' The internet has been loving this LP, largely due to the presence of Kendrick Lamar on 'Chains & Whips,' the reunion of Clipse and Pharrell, and seeing a veteran group still performing at a high level. Sales have rarely been their metric of success, but their recent venture into independence has many people thrilled about these projections. 'Clipse selling 90K first week units 16 years after their last album is an incredible feat,' one X user wrote. '90k first week sales for Clipse? Huge W. Their biggest first week since Lord Willin' in 2002. The press takeover worked — media STILL matters in 2025, don't let anyone tell you different,' another user wrote. 'Clipse projected to sell 90k in the first week while dropping this album independently + it's been over 16 years since they've dropped one as a group is a win,' another user wrote. Their rollout included a live interview with Apple Music's Rap Life Review, an appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast, a COLORS performance, an NPR Tiny Desk set, and much more. Watch the duo perform 'Chains & Whips,' 'The Birds Don't Sing,' 'Grindin',' and more on NPR below. More from Clipse Release "Culturally Inappropriate" Video For "Chains & Whips" Feat. Kendrick Lamar Drake Reacts To "What Did I Miss?" Debuting At No. 2 On The Billboard Hot 100 Did Justin Bieber Diss Clipse's New Album On Instagram? Solve the daily Crossword
