Paul left the venue, leaving the reporters staring at one another in bewilderment once again.
Meanwhile, Kings fans had gone wild.
Two stars had retired after a single game, and both of them were among the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
This was seriously hard to accept.
"I'm losing it. Chris Paul's retired, Gallo's retired. What's going on with the Kings? Are they calling it quits after winning?"
"Calling it quits, splitting up, and heading home to the old manor!"
"No! I wanted to see Gallo play for another couple of years. If he'd played two more seasons alongside Wang Yi, he could've won at least two more championships."
But once they'd made up their minds, they weren't just saying it for fun.
When Paul returned to the locker room with the O'Brien Cup in his arms, the players drew on their experience from earlier and went over to hug him, showing that they respected his decision.
Honestly, Paul had brought his career to a satisfying close. And his performance in this year's Playoffs had been a far cry from what he'd delivered in previous years.
He'd averaged just five points and fewer than five assists per game.
He'd actually averaged six turnovers.
He could still play, but he knew he was truly getting old. His reaction time had slowed down too much.
He was an old-school player.
His style of play was thoroughly old-school.
It was no longer compatible with the fast-paced NBA of today.
Winning a championship alongside Wang Yi had already felt a little like riding someone else's coattails.
His performance would most likely decline further next season.
At that point, he might not even get a chance to play. Even if he won a championship then, he wouldn't be able to accept it himself.
So