Paul was born on May 6 in 1985 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Charles Edward Paul and Robin Jones.A former athlete himself, Charles Sr. taught his sons basketball and football and coached them in various youth leagues throughout their childhoods.Growing up, the Paul brothers spent their summers working at a service station owned by their grandfather, Nathanial Jones; Paul attributes many life lessons to his grandfather and describes him as his "best friend"aul attended West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina. During his freshman and sophomore seasons, he played on the junior varsity team. For his junior year, he averaged 25 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.4 steals per game, helping West Forsyth reach the state semifinals. Over the ensuing summer, he led the Winston-Salem-based Kappa Magic to the National U-17 AAU title, earning tournament MVP honors in the process. During his senior season, Paul received national attention for scoring 61 points in a game; his 61-year-old grandfather was slain earlier in the year and Paul honored him by scoring one point for each year of his life.As a freshman at Wake Forest University, Paul averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.7 steals per game, setting school freshman records for three-point percentage, free throws, free throw percentage, assists, and steals in the process. At the conclusion of the season, Paul was named ACC Rookie of the Year and Third Team All-ACC.Paul was selected fourth overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets played most of their games in Oklahoma City in his first two seasons with the Hornets. Paul finished the season leading all rookies in points, assists, steals, and double-doubles, and became only the second rookie in NBA history to lead the league in total steals. With final averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year, falling just one vote shy of winning the award unanimously.On December 8, 2011, the Hornets agreed to a three-team trade sending Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA, who owned the Hornets at the time, nullified the deal, with commissioner David Stern claiming New Orleans would be better off keeping Paul. The teams involved in the trade attempted to lobby the league to reverse its ruling and reconstruct the deal to no avail. 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. Two days later, the teams finally made the trade, sending Paul and two future second round draft picks to the Clippers for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, and the Minnesota Timberwolves' unprotected first round pick in the 2012 draft. Upon the deal's completion, Paul announced that he would opt into the final year of his contract and remain in Los Angeles for at least two more seasons.Paul's arrival to Los Angeles rejuvenated the Clippers franchise, with teammate Blake Griffin later commenting, "It put us on the map." Early in Paul's debut season, the team developed a reputation for their fast-paced offense and spectacular alley-oop dunks, usually from Paul to Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, earning them the nickname "Lob City". Paul finished the year averaging 19.8 points, 9.1 assists, and 2.5 steals per game, becoming the first Clipper to be named to the All-NBA First Team since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s. 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.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. In his debut for the Rockets in their season opener on October 17, 2017, Paul had four points on 2-for-9 shooting in a 122–121 win over the Golden State Warriors.On July 8, 2018, Paul signed a four-year, $160 million maximum contract extension with the Rockets.On July 16, 2019, Paul and draft considerations were officially traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder by the Houston Rockets in exchange for Russell Westbrook. He debuted for the Thunder in a 100–95 loss to the Utah Jazz on October 23, 2019, putting up 22 points and 8 rebounds in 30 minutes of play.At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he played a key role off the bench, scoring 13 points in a gold medal game victory against Spain. Team USA finished the competition with a perfect 8–0 record. Paul was promoted to the starting point guard position for the 2012 Olympics in London, averaging 8.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game en route to another gold medal and undefeated tournament.