To Be The Man You Gotta’ Beat The Man

Back in the 1980s professional wrestler Ric Flair became famous for his trademark saying, “To be the man you gotta’ beat the man.” In a brilliant sense of irony, the New Orleans Hornets have been blasting Ric Flair’s trademark “Wooo” through New Orleans Arena this season whenever Chris Paul scores a bucket. Despite members of the media claiming at the onset of the playoffs that the Hornets lacked the experience to even get out of the first round, Paul and his teammates have built a 2-0 advantage against San Antonio and look poised to become “The Man” if they can oust the Spurs from the playoffs and win a championship in June.

After watching Paul dissect Jason Kidd in the first round of the playoffs and now Tony Parker in the second round, he’s built upon the buzz that started to grow around him during the regular season. Despite voters for the Maurice Podoloff Trophy siding with Kobe Bryant, Paul warranted consideration for the award because he posted some gaudy numbers this season while resurrecting a franchise and city that needed his passion and poise. This year Paul became only the second player in the history of the NBA to average more than 20 points, 10 assists and 2.5 steals for a season but during the first seven games of the playoffs where Paul has elevated his game to even further heights. During the playoffs Paul has managed to improve upon his regular season stats and is averaging a sizzling 24.3 points and 12.1 dimes.

While it’s the flashy stats that catch people’s attention it’s not just the stats that leave fans and opponents captivated. It’s the way he’s effortlessly lifted New Orleans from a perennial lottery team to the second best record in the Western Conference this season. It’s how he was able to make Jason Kidd, the man who will be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee and who started in the All-Star game this season, look like he was on the verge of retirement during the first round of the playoffs. Then there’s the way he’s able to shoulder the offensive load for New Orleans like he did last night when he had a hand in seven of the first eight field goals his team scored (three field goals and four dimes). And, I would be remiss to mention his “bedroom eyes” that my girlfriend and countless other females around the globe swoon over. Paul represents the perfect package of skill, basketball IQ and charisma that merge to form a lethal combination which any marketing team, agent or corporation would drool over getting the chance to promote.

This season Paul has established himself as one of the young stars in the game but he’s played the game in a way that helped make his teammates better. While the majority of his peers are more worried about scoring or making flashy plays to get face time on ESPN, Paul is different than most of his peers because his only concern is winning. In fact, towards the end of the season when the media started to hype him up as an MVP candidate, Paul would shrug off the suggestion and tell reporters he was more worried about securing home court advantage in the playoffs.

Much like Dwyane Wade did two years back by winning a championship and LeBron James did last season by carrying Cleveland to the NBA Finals, Paul realizes that the only way to become a true legend is to win games and advance deep into the playoffs. For a generation that seems to have lost an understanding of what it is to be successful and truly leave your mark in the NBA, Paul grasps how to do this, and could care less about individual statistics as long as his team is winning.

It’s this singular desire and focus which have the Hornets and Paul positioned to become “The Man” in the NBA by knocking off the reigning champs.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media