Chris Paul wasted little time after the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in the 9-10 play-in game on April 16, 2026. He posted an image on his Instagram story that read “Biggest Hater’s Funeral,” a pointed reaction from a player who had spent part of the season in Los Angeles before the Clippers sent him home and later traded him to the Toronto Raptors.
The Warriors win sent Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford forward after they joined forces to outlast the Clippers in a tight game that kept both teams under pressure until the end. For Paul, the defeat landed with extra force because he announced his retirement earlier, and because his run with Golden State lasted just one season.
The clip of Paul’s postgame message also fit a familiar pattern for the Clippers, whose best players have too often left amid bad blood during the Steve Ballmer era. Blake Griffin’s exit remains the clearest example: the team convinced him to sign a contract extension and then traded him six months later after paying him $28M, a move that still hangs over how the franchise is remembered.
That history makes Paul’s reaction feel less like a one-night taunt than another entry in a long file of hard endings. Patrick Beverley once celebrated a play-in victory over his old team like he had won an NBA title, and Paul’s post showed how little those old wounds have healed in Los Angeles.
The Clippers can point to one game, one loss and one playoff path that is not over yet. But the larger story is harder to escape: when this franchise parts with stars, it tends to do so loudly, and the breakup rarely stops at the door.
