Phoenix Suns (2020–2023)
On November 16, 2020, the Thunder traded Paul and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 protected first-round pick. On February 1, 2021, Paul dropped a season-high 34 points, along with nine rebounds and nine assists, in a close 109–108 win over the Dallas Mavericks. On February 19, he put up a season-high 19 assists while also scoring 15 points in a 132–114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On February 23, Paul was selected to his 11th All-Star appearance, second in a row, as a Western Conference reserve. With Devin Booker being named a replacement All-Star a day later, Paul and Booker were the first Suns duo since Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in 2010 to be named All-Stars. On March 21, Paul logged his first triple-double of the season with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists in a 111–94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the sixth player in NBA history to record 10,000 career assists.
In Game 2 of the Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets, Paul recorded 17 points, 15 assists, and 0 turnovers in a 123–98 victory. This was Paul's third playoff game with at least 15 points, 15 assists, and 0 turnovers, the most in NBA history. In Game 4, Paul scored 37 points on a 74 percent shooting (14-of-19) alongside seven assists in a 125–118 victory, leading the Suns to a 4–0 series sweep over the Nuggets for their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2010. On June 16, Paul was indefinitely sidelined as he entered the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Paul endured an eight-day isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, which caused him to miss the first two games of the Western Conference Finals. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Clippers, Paul tied a playoff career-high 41 points, while putting up eight assists, in a 130–103 victory to close out the series, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career and the Suns' first appearance since 1993. During the game Paul scored 31 out of his 41 points in the second half, becoming just the third player in the last 25 years to score at least 30 points in the second half of a series-clinching game. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, Paul put up 32 points, 16 of those in the third quarter, along with nine assists, in a 118–105 win. The Suns jumped to a 2–0 lead in the series before losing in six games. Paul became the first player in NBA playoff history to lose four series in which his team led 2–0. After the Finals ended, he had wrist surgery.
On August 7, 2021, Paul signed a four-year contract extension with the Suns worth up to $120 million. On October 22, Paul recorded 23 points and 14 assists in a 115–105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first player in league history to record 20,000 points and 10,000 assists in their career. On November 2, Paul put up 14 points and 18 assists in a 112–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, moving past Mark Jackson and Steve Nash for third place on the NBA all-time career assists list. On December 2, Paul put up 12 points and 12 assists in a 114–103 win over the Detroit Pistons, leading the Suns to their franchise-record 18th win in a row. On January 24, 2022, Paul scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out 14 assists in a 115–109 win against the Utah Jazz. On January 28, Paul logged his 18th career triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists in a 134–124 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The following game, Paul had a season-high 19 assists with 20 points and eight rebounds in a 115–110 win against the San Antonio Spurs.
On February 3, Paul recorded 18 points, 12 assists, and three steals in a 124–115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks who snapped Phoenix's 11-game winning streak. This was Paul's 50th career game with 10 assists or more with no turnovers—the most such games in NBA history. Before the game, he was named a reserve for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. On February 10, Paul tied his season-high 19 assists with 17 points and seven rebounds as he led the Suns to a 131–107 victory against the Bucks in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals. Paul finished with his 500th career double-double. He is just the fourth guard in NBA history to accomplish that feat. On February 16, Paul broke his right thumb in a game against the Houston Rockets, just before the All-Star break. On March 24, Paul returned from a broken right wrist to help the Suns wrap up the top seed in the NBA playoffs with a 140–130 victory over the Denver Nuggets. He finished the game with 17 points and 13 assists. On April 1, Paul surpassed Gary Payton for fourth on the NBA all-time career steals list. On April 5, after Phoenix's 121–110 win over the Lakers set the team's season total to 64 wins, Paul became the first player in NBA history to be part of four teams to set a franchise record for victories in a single season.
In Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Paul scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter along with seven rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals on 12-of-16 shooting from the field in a 110–99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He also became the oldest player in NBA history to put up at least 30 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. In Game 3, Paul scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter along with 14 assists to lead the Suns to a 114–111 win. In Game 6, he closed the series with 33 points along with eight assists and five rebounds on 14-of-14 shooting, which set the record for the most field goals in a game without a miss in NBA playoffs history. On May 2, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Paul moved past Tony Parker for fifth all-time in career playoff assists in a 121–114 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The Suns jumped to a 2–0 lead in the series before losing in seven games. Paul then became the first player in NBA playoff history to lose five series in which his team led 2–0, breaking his own NBA record, of four, set the previous year.
On October 23, 2022, Paul recorded seven points, eight rebounds and eleven assists in an 112–95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He joined John Stockton and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history with 11,000 assists. Paul also became the first player in the league with 20,000 points and 11,000 assists. On October 30, Paul posted 15 assists along with 10 points and 0 turnovers in a 124–109 win over the Houston Rockets. On December 19, Paul scored a then season-high 28 points and delivered eight assists in a 130–104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On Christmas Day, Paul recorded 17 points, a then season-high 16 assists and 0 turnovers in a 128–125 overtime loss against the Denver Nuggets.
On January 22, 2023, Paul returned to the lineup after missing the previous seven games with a hip injury. He had 22 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals to lead the Suns to an 112–110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. On January 28, Paul scored a season-high 31 points, along with seven rebounds and 11 assists in a 128–118 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs. On February 14, Paul posted 17 points and a season-high 19 assists in a 120–107 win over the Sacramento Kings. The next game, Paul surpassed Michael Jordan for third on the NBA all-time career steals list. On April 6, Paul scored 25 points and made a career-high seven three-pointers in a 119–115 win over the Denver Nuggets.
