Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985) is an American (United States) professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association. He serves as team captain of the franchise.

Paul was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity basketball seasons in high school, he was a McDonalds All-American and accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake Forest University. After his sophomore year with the Demon Deacons (Wake Forest Demon Deacons mens basketball), he declared for the draft. Since being selected 4th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by New Orleans, Paul has been a NBA Rookie of the Year (NBA Rookie of the Year Award) (2006), a three-time All-Star, and an All-NBA and All-Defensive team (NBA All-Defensive Team) honoree. He led the Hornets to the second round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. He has also won an Olympic Gold Medal with the United States national basketball team.

Off the court, Paul is a notable ten-pin bowler (Ten-pin bowling) and a sponsored spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). He has participated in numerous celebrity and youth bowling events as the head of the CP3 Foundation to benefit programs in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.