Chris Paul is Not Isiah Thomas

Photo from Men's Vogue.

This post is part of Chris Paul Blog Day, hosted by At the Hive! Be sure to check out all of the other contributions from the wonderful bloggers involved.

Man, that Chris Paul sure is all the rage these days. He's tearing through the traditional powers of the Southwest Division and defying all logic in the process: he should be too young, his team shouldn't be this good, he shouldn't be that impossibly efficient.

But, unfortunately for the mainstream media, he is not Isiah Thomas. And unfortunately for Avery Johnson, he is not Nate Archibald, either. Rather, Chris Paul is...Tiger Woods.

Photo from No EZ Buckets.

And to answer your question, yes, I do know that I'm insane. But hear me out.

Tiger Woods is the most dominant player in any American sport. He was on the national radar from an early age, and played at an elite level from the age of eight on. Among various other accolades, his high school career included the Golf Digest National Amateur Player of the Year, Golfweek National Amateur of the Year, and the Golf World Player of the Year. He won multiple U.S. Junior Amateur Championships and was a member of the American team for the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships and the 1995 Walker Cup.

Chris Paul is one of the most dominant players in basketball today. He was on the national radar from an early age, and played at an elite level in AAU ball. Among various other accolades, his high school career included being named North Carolina's "Mr. Basketball." He led his team to to a 27-0 record, while posting averages of 30.8 points, 8.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.0 steals per game as a senior. Paul was named a McDonald's All-American in 2003.

He later enrolled at Stanford, one of our nation's premiere universities. In his first year he was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, and an NCAA First Team All-American. At age 20 in 1996, Woods became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. He left Stanford after two years and turned pro, and .

He later enrolled at Wake Forest, one of our nation's premiere universities. In his first year he was voted ACC Rookie of the Year and to the ACC All-Defensive Team, as well as being named an NCAA First Team All-American. At age 20 in 2004, Paul led his team to its second tournament berth in as many years, and into the Sweet Sixteen (the first time the feat was done at Wake since Tim Duncan was suiting up) before losing to St. Jo's. He left Wake Forest after two years and turned pro.

Tiger's strong effort in his first year earned him PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Honors, and he became the youngest to win the Masters. But things weren't always easy: although he ascended to the top of the game in his second year, he did begin to slump. He won just one PGA Tour Event in 1998.

Chris Paul's strong effort in his first year earned him NBA Rookie of the Year Honors, but things weren't always easy. He had averages of 16.1 points, 7.8 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.2 steals his rookie year. But although he ascended to the top of the league at his position in his second year, he team slumped. His first two years in the L left him with a combined record of 77-88.

But his next season began on an unbelievable tear. Tiger won the Memorial Tournament, a victory that began his reign as the king of golf. At the end of the season, Tiger won his last four starts, including the PGA Championship, and finished the season with eight wins. He was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year.

But his next season began on an unbelievable tear. Paul's Hornets won 11 of their first 13 games, and by the end of the season, they had won 56 (good enough for 2nd in the ultra-competitive West). Paul and his teammate David West were chosen for the NBA All-Star Game. He has already won one series, and has a significant 2-0 lead on the champion Spurs in his second...could he finish up his campaign with the NBA Championship? Although Kobe will be the one holding the MVP hardware, Paul really should have been voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player.

Not to mention that they're both Nike men.

Photo from The Telegraph.
Photo from Nike Basketball.

Now, these two stories are not identical. Tiger was much more successful in his pre-professional career than Paul was, and has obviously had much more success professionally as a result of his twelve professional years as opposed to Paul's three (and even then, Tiger had won the national championship in his rookie year). But the stories of these two men are not this similar coincidentally.

Tiger and Paul both share that sort of intangible fire and drive that not only makes athletes envious, but should make everyone envious. When was the last time you worked at anything as hard as these two play at every possible instance of competition? When was the last time you displayed excellence on par with schooling Tony Parker, the NBA Finals MVP? Or were ambitious enough to imagine something equal to an unprecedented "perfect season" on the PGA Tour?

I hope the trend is true. I hope that Chris Paul is the most dominant American athlete by the time he reaches the prime of his career. He's already a ROY, an all-star, already a should-be MVP, likely a member of the 2008 Olympic squad, will surely nab All-NBA Team honors, and is playing playoff spoiler for every opponent he's played in the post-season thus far. Looking to the future onward, it's incredibly difficult to say that CP3 could take that throne -- with LeBron and Dwight Howard waiting in the wings, he might not even be the best player in his own sport. But I have no doubt in my mind that Chris Paul will be incredibly successful on the biggest stage in the world, just as Tiger Woods has been time and time again. When we look back ten years from now, we will see All-Star games. We will see MVPs. We will see championships. The man has as much basketball prowess as I've ever seen, and does things to defenses that are illegal in about 48 states.

But basketball is a team game, as you may know, and that's where Chris Paul's departure from Tiger truly begins. Tiger Woods has never had to worry about chemistry (unless you count with his caddy), managing egos, or keeping everyone happy. He worries about his own game, and his own success. And maybe that's what makes Paul so special -- everything he does and says screams "team," and the point guard position by nature lends itself to that kind of persona. When you control the offense and are the snake's head of the defense, you need to have your team's trust and confidence. Once that's in the bag, it's all about production: helping yourself, helping your teammates, and shutting down opponents. It's no coincidence that Paul excels at all three.

On the flip side, does Chris Paul have that quality that makes him a transcendent athlete like Tiger? A marketing superstar, a member of the community, a national legend and a household name? I think the potential and the tools are definitely there. He's got the game, the community, and the smile to have his face on the front of every magazine rack. He's truly a special athlete, and a special person, and New Orleans should be proud.

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So how are Tiger and Paul looking this season? (Images for Tiger courtesy of the PGA Tour website, and images for Paul courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.) Here's an analysis of their season performance in relation to their peers.

Scoring - Scoring is the be-all and end-all of all sports: if you don't have enough points (or...not enough points in golf...) you lose. Period.

Tiger Woods:
Chris Paul:

Long Distance - Scoring from long range is essential in both basketball and golf; it allows a player to play catch up and can be the difference in putting a good player over the top in terms of greatness.

Tiger Woods:
Chris Paul:

Defense - Yes, I know there is technically no defense in golf. But scrambling is probably the closest thing there is to a steal. Scrambling is when a player does not hit the green, but still manages to save par or better. In basketball, it's pretty much the equivalent of committing an error and then getting your team back in position to score with a crucial defensive position or critical steal. This one's probably more of a stretch, but hey it's just for fun anyway.

Tiger Woods:
Chris Paul:


Photo from NOLA.com.

A day after Paul's Hornets took it to the Spurs for a second straight game, this might be the biggest Chris Paul Day ever. The media will be churning out stories about he's the greatest, the blogosphere will be gloating over his excellence, and I severely doubt he'll be excluded from casual NBA conversation on this day. So Happy 23rd Birthday, CP3, I can't even tell you how much you mean to this league. I am just caught in awe watching you surge and succeed, make play after play, and get win after win. You're not only All-NBA, but All-World in potential, as a player, and as a person.

EDIT: Thanks to the all-knowing ANONYMOUS for correcting my spelling error.