Chris Paul to give Morehouse College commencement speech
Chris Paul, the NBA star with deep HBCU ties, will serve as the keynote speaker for Morehouse College's 142nd Commencement exercises.
The ceremony is set for Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 9 a.m. on Morehouse's Century Campus. Paul will also receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the Atlanta HBCU. Morehouse announced Paul as part of a commencement week that will celebrate the Class of 2026 and several milestone alumni groups.
Paul is best known as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. He is a 12-time NBA All-Star, a two-time Olympian, philanthropist and entrepreneur. But this moment carries a different kind of weight.
Paul is also a Winston-Salem State University alumnus. The North Carolina native graduated from WSSU in December 2022 with a bachelor's degree in communications, adding an HBCU chapter to a story that began in Winston-Salem and grew into a Hall of Fame-level NBA career.
That makes his Morehouse appearance more than a celebrity commencement booking. It connects one HBCU graduate to the next generation of Morehouse men.
Morehouse honors HBCU impact
Morehouse will also honor Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, and the Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., founding dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. Carter is retiring this summer after 47 years of service to Morehouse.
Womack's honor also has a direct HBCU connection. Under his leadership, Southern Company launched a $50 million HBCU initiative. The effort provides scholarships, leadership development and expanded technology access to students across six states.
Carter's recognition is rooted in decades of spiritual and institutional leadership. Morehouse said he was recruited by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a 10-year-old. After nearly five decades of service to the college, he will finally become a "Morehouse Man" through the honorary degree.
Chris Paul's message reaches beyond basketball
Paul's speech will close a major week for Morehouse. Alumni expected to be celebrated include Grammy Award-winning producer Khalil "DJ Khalil" Abdul-Rahman, Montgomery mayor Stephen Reed, NBA executive Albert Sanders, entrepreneur Rashaun Williams and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
For Paul, the stage fits his broader legacy.
His NBA résumé made him famous. His work around education, entrepreneurship and HBCU visibility has made his platform bigger than basketball.
Now, the WSSU alumnus will stand before Morehouse graduates as both a sports icon and an HBCU example. That combination should make his message land with a little more force.
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 5:43 PM.