Retired NBA point guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook recently brought back memories of the Los Angeles Clippers' "Lob City" era, participating in alley-oop plays on a yacht.
Paul shared a video on social media showing the two Hall of Fame candidates executing passes and dunks on a basketball hoop set up on the yacht's deck, with Paul captioning the post "Retirement…". The vacation was reportedly planned by the players and their wives to celebrate the end of their careers, according to former NBA forward Matt Barnes. Barnes stated on the “All the Smoke” podcast that the two were taking their wives on a vacation to relax and celebrate after concluding their playing days.
Paul, who played six seasons with the Clippers alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, first threw an alley-oop to Westbrook before the roles were reversed. This aerial play served as a nod to the exciting basketball that defined Paul's tenure in Los Angeles.
Paul's NBA career spanned 21 seasons, ending after he was traded by the Clippers to the Toronto Raptors in December of an unspecified year, though he never played for Toronto. Westbrook concluded his 18-year career as a former MVP, nine-time All-Star, and the league's all-time leader in triple-doubles.
An interesting footnote in their careers is their trade in 2019, which sent Westbrook to the Houston Rockets and Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, in retirement, their exchanges involve alley-oops rather than team transfers, offering a relaxed contrast to the competitive NBA grind.
