'The gift and the curse' fueling Chris Paul's competitive fire

Charles Paul made a makeshift basketball court for his two sons in the basement of their Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home. He used red tape for the lines of the court and put plastic Fisher-Price baskets about 20 feet apart, duct-taping the bases in place and raising older brother C.J.'s hoop a little higher than Chris'.

One day, 5-year-old C.J. stormed down the court and threw down a vicious dunk over his kid brother. Chris attempted to reject the shot but instead got run over, crashing hard to the concrete floor. But the 3-year-old didn't stay down long.

Passing isn't just an art and a science to Chris Paul. It's an obsession that has helped create one of the greatest floor generals in…