At age 37, Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul is closer to retirement than most in the NBA. There’s no other way to put it.

So naturally, the topic was on the mind of many following his team’s Game 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.

Paul left nothing to be interpreted. He’ll be back for Year 18.

“They said that last year. They probably said it back in ’08. You play long enough and you don’t win, every time you lose, they’re gonna say it’s your best chance. … But we’ll be back next year. I’ll tell you that much. I ain’t retiring tomorrow, thank God. Hopefully I’m healthy, come back but we’ll keep playing.”

"They said that last year. They probably said it back in '08. Every time you lose, they're gonna say it's your best chance…but we'll be back next year. I ain't retiring tomorrow, thank God."

Chris Paul on whether this was his best shot at a title 🔉pic.twitter.com/MOnEoRbL6t

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 16, 2022

Paul put together a strong regular season, averaging 14.7 points, 10.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds over 32.9 minutes played per game. He shot 49.3% from the field and 31.7% from long range.

He kept that play up through the first round of the playoffs against the New Orleans Pelicans, highlighted by a 14-of-14 effort in Game 6, but ran into trouble against the Mavericks.

From Game 3 on, which coincidentally landed on Paul’s 37th birthday, Paul’s play took a major dip.

Over the final five games of the Suns’ playoff run, Paul averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds over 32.2 minutes.

Now, it’s back to the lab for Paul and Co. this offseason as they look to get back to the postseason for a third straight season.

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