For Chris Paul, there’s nothing like coming back home.

Eight years after last playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, Paul was officially introduced as part of the team at a celebratory news conference at the Intuit Dome. Earlier this month, Paul agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million veteran's minimum deal for what many believe could be his final season.

Nearly a thousand fans in attendance chanted “C-P-3,” which left Paul, one of the best players in the history of the franchise, in tears.

"It was a no-brainer," Paul said. "If I'm really honest, I wanted to get back and play here by any means necessary."

While admitting that his departure from the Clippers “wasn't the prettiest thing," Paul stayed in contact with team governor Steve Ballmer when he served as president of the players' union. Last summer, Ballamer gave Paul a personal tour of the Intuit Dome.

Paul went on the share that he spoke with several of his new teammates, and he believes that they can do something special.

"I'm just so excited about the moves that the team has made this offseason," Paul said. "Brad coming to the team, Brook Lopez, all the young guys. I talked to James, I talked to Kawhi [Leonard], and I'm even more excited about what I think we have a chance to do."

“My role on this team is obviously different than it's been the past 20 years, being in the NBA," he continued, "but showing up every day, if I can show some of the guys what it looks like every day to clock in and clock out, I'm excited for it."

The biggest reason for Paul’s return to L.A. was his desire to play closer to his family: his wife, Jada, his son, Chris Jr., and his daughter, Camryn. While he played in five other cities since being traded to the Houston Rockets in 2017, his family remained in Los Angeles.

In his last season with the San Antonio Spurs, Pauled played all 82 games for the first time in his career, averaging 8.8 points on 42.7% shooting (37.7% from 3) with 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

With the Clippers, Paul even promised to smile more during the season.

“You all who have seen me play for a while, I'm going to try to do better and try to smile a little bit more this year," Paul said. "I'm grateful. I'm going to come out every single night, whatever that looks like, and try to make sure I show up for the team."