Chris Paul: Brands Miss Out When They Just Hand Athletes a Script

Twelve-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul retired earlier in 2026 after a 21-season career as one of basketball’s most accomplished players. However, the athlete’s influence has long extended beyond the court, and he’s not finished yet.

Over the last two decades, he’s forged longstanding partnerships with Nike’s Jordan Brand and State Farm, where his alter ego “Cliff Paul” became an advertising fixture. In 2022, Paul launched plant-based snack brand Good Eat’n.

He then opened the doors to his media production company Ohh Dip!!! Entertainment (ODEP) alongside his brother CJ Paul in May 2025. The business specializes in non-scripted and scripted television, digital, documentaries, commercials, and films, creating work like The Game Changers on Netflix.

In conversation with ADWEEK CEO Will Lee at ADWEEK House Cannes Lions, Paul discussed how he’s built a legacy that lives beyond the final buzzer and offered brands advice on getting the best out of their athlete partnerships.

Brands shouldn’t just hand athletes a script

When asked what marketers are still getting wrong about working with athletes, Paul said communication was key.

Reflecting on his own experience, he said: “I’ve done everything you could possibly do. I’ve walked in before, and [had a brand say], ‘Here’s your script, go stand in front of the camera and smile.’ [They] don’t realize that some of these people are actually creatives themselves.”

He continued: “That’s how I approached it with State Farm. I’m a consumer, I watch a lot of TV and commercials, TV shows. I never took an acting class, but I knew what I wanted to see of myself.”

His main takeaway for brands? “Over-communicate with the people who are part of the team, because what you think might be funny or cool might not be the way that one person wants to show up. It’s about communication, back-and-forth. If you meet somewhere [in the middle], everybody will be proud of the final product.”

Athletes are (rightfully) more selective about partnerships now

Building on his point, when Paul first started out in the NBA as a young player, brands would “pay a couple of $100,000” for a picture of a player smiling and holding their product.

“Once upon a time that’s how it was. It was like, ‘Give me my money, no matter the leadership behind [a brand],’” he said. But as social media and consumer savvy have evolved, athletes have gotten more selective about their partners to avoid “tarnishing” their own image.

He’s chosen his own deals wisely, including an established deal with Jordan and Nike, and State Farm—which took his profile to “a whole other level.”

“The reach that [State Farm] had, and the commercials themselves, just gave me a chance to show personality,” he said. The team also encouraged him to bring on board fellow talent like Kevin Garnett and John Stockton. “It was cool to bring people along and have them be a part of these campaigns.”

He’s still figuring out his work-life balance

The multihyphenate was candid that, even after a 21-year NBA career, he’s still figuring out how to juggle family, business and life beyond basketball.

“There’s really no such thing as work-life balance,” he said. “I think it just depends on what day it is.”

For most of his career, he revealed, he’s not been fully present outside the court, even at family dinners, because his mind was already racing ahead to training and recovery routines.

Now, in what he calls his “newfound life,” he’s trying to be intentional about whatever he’s committed to in a given day, whether that’s a meeting in Cannes or sitting in the stands at his kids’ games.