J.J. Redick and Chris Paul are cool.
But it wasn’t always like this.
Paul played for Wake Forest in college, while Redick spent his time at Duke. Their collegiate careers overlapped for two seasons, so it’s only natural that they were arch rivals, because their schools are notorious enemies.
“Arch rivals” might be putting it kindly, though.
Ahem:
"When me and J.J. were in college, there was no one that I disliked more than him." -Chris Paul pic.twitter.com/mCRNGlXYWf
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 14, 2016
Paul actually told me something similar a couple of years back when I was interviewing him over the phone, though not to this extent. The Los Angeles Clippers had just acquired Redick, and he recounted how they weren’t on the best of terms as student athletes.
That’s all in the past now. The two are in their third season together as teammates, and their on-court chemistry is pretty damn good.
To wit: Paul has assisted on nearly 48 percent of Redick’s made buckets this year, according to NBA.com. So it seems they’ve left their teenage rivalry in the past for the pursuit of a championship and in the name of becoming the very best friends*.
*I have no idea if they’re the very best of friends.
