People might think of Chris Paul as a gifted player who made the most of his talents, but the man is as dedicated to the game as Kobe Bryant
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We have all heard about the competitiveness of Michael Jordan and his biggest and most successful fan, Kobe Bryant.
Even though he couldn’t overtake MJ as the GOAT or most of his accomplishments, Kobe eclipsed his idol in terms of the disciplined life he lived to keep his competitive spirits up throughout his 20-year long and one of the most decorated NBA careers.
The Mamba Mentality is not just a known term in the NBA circuit anymore, it is famous around the world. Bryant’s untimely demise might be one of the reasons for it being such widely spread and respected, but it’s truly a form of living that could change one’s life in and out.
There came a lot of many legendary players since he came into the league back in 1996, but nobody showed the competitive spirit of his stature. Some came close, and according to Lamar Odom, it isn’t LeBron James but two of his closest friends in the league.
Lamar Odom once ranked Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade behind Kobe Bryant on ‘competitive spirit’
Former Clippers and Lakers star, who came into the NBA a couple of years after the 18x All-Star, once sat down with The Vertical and discussed basketball through and through.
While talking about his former teammate’s contagious competitiveness and work ethic, the 2x NBA champ mentioned Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul as far seconds behind the 5x champ, giving the latter a slight edge.
“No one was close to Kobe for me, his competitive spirit,” Odom told The Vertical according to Yahoo Sports.
LO continued, “I mean, D-Wade and Chris Paul … Chris Paul is second with his competitive drive, but Kobe Bryant, man, in the morning, man. He taught me to really finish off. To finish. Finish everything. I already had the Heat mantra instilled in me, lifting weights every day, which I started that season in Miami. I was cool with that, being around Kobe. You want to be strong, defend your spot and your territory when you play with Kobe.”
Also read: Chris Paul Makes History and Forms a 20,000 Points and 11,000 Assists Club!
How CP3 used his competitiveness to become the Point God
As bad as he can be in the postseason, nobody was nick-named a God in the NBA in 75 years apart from Chris Paul. Never mind ‘Black Jesus’, it was MJ’s own given nickname to himself.
At 37, in his 18th season in the league, the 5x assists leader has joined John Stockton and Jason Kidd as the only players to have 11,000 career assists.
He might not have championships to show for it, but he might arguably be the best two-way point guard in the league as well, arguably behind Isiah Thomas and Gary Payton.
His 6x Steals titles (no other player has won more than 3) and 9x All-Defensive Team selections are proof of his greatness as an all-time great defender and show how much was he willing to give for the game on both ends of the court.
Like, Kobe, he would have been a legend of the game even without his defensive contribution, but as Odom said being close to Bryant meant he had to be the best at all times on all parts of the court.
