Chris Paul is one of the best passers in NBA history.
He may also be one of the most OCD players in NBA history.
The Houston Rockets point guard, it turns out, takes the minutia of his passing so seriously sometimes that he feels badly and actually says sorry to his teammates, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“It’s probably my OCD,” Paul said. “It’s understanding how important the little things are.”
Paul will go down as one of the best point guards the NBA has ever seen. He’s legitimately pass-first, even though he is also a plenty capable scorer. And there those around the league that rave about his toughness and competitiveness when he laces them up.
He may be hard to play with in some ways, but as far as his passing is concerned, teammates likely love him. He has averaged 9.9 assists in his career.
So to find out that he is anal retentive about exactly where he puts a pass is not all that surprising. He likes to get his teammates involved and he likes to put them in the best positions to score with the least amount of effort. That’s what a point guard does.
What Paul experiences may not even be obsessive compulsive disorder per se. He probably was just having a little fun with the reporter.
Even so, the sentiment is similar. He cares so much about the way he passes and whether his passes are on time and on target that if he feels any of them are off in the slightest, that made it potentially harder for his teammates to score, which adversely affects the team.
So keep feeling OCD, Paul. You’re doing great.
