Chris Paul and Damian Lillard will hopefully ignite an NBA summer of reunions

USA Today

21-07-2025

Years ago, Chris Paul was traded away from the L.A. Clippers as they blew up their "Lob City" era team. Meanwhile, when Damian Lillard tried to strongarm his way onto the Miami Heat, his beloved Portland Trail Blazers responded by jettisoning him to southeast Wisconsin, a.k.a. Milwaukee. It would've been easy to assume that neither future Hall of Famer would've ever returned to their old stomping grounds, where they became veritable legends.
Today, with both Paul and Lillard staring down the end of the barrel of their respective iconic careers, they've decided to run it back one last time.
The 40-year-old Paul is once again a Clipper. Lillard, whilst recovering from an Achilles tear, is once again a Trail Blazer (pun somewhat intended). No matter what happens next, we're virtually guaranteed to see more Clippers hoops with Paul and more Trail Blazers hoops with Lillard, and I think that's beautiful.
This got me thinking.
If everything is coming full circle for two of the most memorable NBA players of a generation, why can't we make this while summer about reunions? Why can't we let bygones be bygones? Why can't every legend and their former franchises swallow their pride and meet in the middle about joining back together? Shouldn't there be more to NBA life than just earning potential? Well ... at least on some level, right?
It's high time the greater NBA appeals to fan nostalgia like this because it's never done that bef ... oh, you get the idea.
With inspiration from Paul and Lillard entering nostalgic time machines, here are other NBA reunions I would like to see happen this summer (or otherwise):
Make no mistake. The NBA is much healthier and more intriguing when franchise legends get to go out on their own terms, where it all started. That's why I hope the Paul and Lillard reunions, and these reunion suggestions, are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Charlotte Hornets finally have something to be proud about
Don't look now, but the Charlotte Hornets have won their *first championship in franchise history!
OK, it's a *Summer League championship, but that still counts for something. No, really. Before winning the 2025 Summer League, the Hornets had never even won a division title, and they've been around for nearly four decades. Quite frankly, that abject lack of success is staggering to consider, dearest readers.
When, up until now, you have arguably been the NBA's most forgettable organization, your young, developmental players finally taking a trophy home of any kind is a meaningful step forward.
As tempting as it will be to write off the Hornets' win as meaningless (and believe me, I get it), I don't think it's that much of a mirage. For the first time in years, it feels like the Hornets are building with some measure of coherent tact. When you include Summer League Championship Game MVP/winning player Kon Knueppel into a nucleus that already features LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, it's hard not to get excited about Charlotte shifting its culture in a positive fashion.
Still, the Hornets are lacking overall talent.
Along those lines, I don't think there's a real NBA big on the current roster. That's where someone like top power forward draft prospect Cameron Boozer might come in down the line. And if he gets the chance to also say this other North Carolina sports team is "overlooked," he'll have a leg to stand on.
Shootaround
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