EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Byron Scott remembers when a 20-year-old rookie point guard named Chris Paul told him that he was afraid to confront center P.J. Brown.
Paul, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, established himself as the leader and go-to guy on the then-New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets during the 2005-06 season, but wasn't yet comfortable yelling at an intimidating 12-year veteran like Brown.
What Paul didn't know, though, was that Brown had no issue with Paul calling him out because he felt Paul had earned that right. Paul led by example and did everything in his power to earn the respect of the Hornets' veterans.