The Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff hopes came to a devastating end on Wednesday, and perhaps no one was more content than ex-Clipper Chris Paul.
After LA’s season-ending 126-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference play-in game, Paul took to his Instagram stories to take a subtle dig at his former team, sparking entertaining reactions.
Chris Paul Hits Back at Clippers After Play-In Letdown
Paul signed a one-year deal with LA last offseason, rejoining the franchise he spent six highly successful seasons with in his prime. While the 12-time All-Star was expected to serve as a valuable veteran presence on a Clippers team coming off a 50-win 2024-25 campaign, the situation quickly went sideways.
Paul was abruptly sent home by the organization in early December amid its dismal 5-16 start, with reports indicating growing tensions between him and the team, including coach Tyronn Lue.
The 21-year veteran was later traded to the Toronto Raptors ahead of February’s trade deadline and waived in a cost-saving move, cutting his farewell tour short, as he retired not long after.
A couple of months later, Paul appears to still be holding a grudge against the Clippers. Immediately after their play-in collapse on Wednesday, he posted a fitting meme on his IG stories that left the NBA world talking. The meme comes from a photo a man posted at a funeral along with the caption: “I stopped by one of my biggest haters’ funeral today just to make sure that n***a was dead.”
Chris Paul’s IG story. 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/2wWT9IAJBI
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 16, 2026
Despite overcoming a 6-21 start to achieve their 15th consecutive winning season (42-40), Kawhi Leonard and Co. blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead against Golden State, getting outscored 16-6 to close the game.
“The NBA is truly the greatest reality TV show on the planet,” NBA content creator Molly Morrison reacted to Paul’s IG story.
the NBA is truly the greatest reality TV show on the planet pic.twitter.com/OdjXujzofT
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) April 16, 2026
“Chris Paul’s Instagram story 😭😭😭 LEGENDARY,” Lakers fan account LakeShowYo backed Paul.
Chris Paul’s instagram story 😭😭😭
LEGENDARY pic.twitter.com/RtxdAkX7x5
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 16, 2026
“Please tell me this is real,” The Guardian’s Claire de Lune wrote.
please tell me this is real https://t.co/NC6n23x7Zt
— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) April 16, 2026
“There’s no league like the NBA,” NBA content creator @Three_Cone opined.
There’s no league like the NBA https://t.co/xMJx5uUeAG
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) April 16, 2026
“1) This is HILARIOUS. 2) What a shame that this is how the greatest Clipper of all time feels about his franchise,” NBA content creator @BiasedHouston weighed in.
1) This is HILARIOUS
2) What a shame that this is how the greatest Clipper of all time feels about his franchise https://t.co/irCrG2cFdJ
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) April 16, 2026
With Wednesday’s letdown, the Clippers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and just the third time during their 15-year run of winning seasons. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2021, with their Leonard era continuing to be defined by underperformance when the lights shine brightest.
Fortunately for Paul, he didn’t have to stick around to endure the latest chapter in LA’s underwhelming postseason history books.
