NBA All-Star and former Wake Forest guard Chris Paul is donating $2.5 million in support of the Demon Deacons’ basketball team.

The donation announced Tuesday is the school’s largest by a former Wake Forest basketball player.

School officials say it will assist a project to expand and enhance the men’s and women’s locker rooms, and the men’s locker room will be named for him.

Paul says the locker room project “inspired me, because that’s where players build relationships and create a unifying camaraderie.”



“Giving back has always been important to my family and me, and Wake Forest is part of my family,” Paul said. “The recent investments towards improving Wake Forest Athletics are amazing, and now is the time to give back in a meaningful way.”

The Houston Rockets guard and Winston-Salem native led Wake Forest to its first No. 1 ranking in 2004-05 before becoming a nine-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medal winner with the U.S. national team.