New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose recently brought up how his mentality as an MVP winner differs from that of Oklahoma City Thunder star, Russell Westbrook.

While the two were at one point obsessively compared as the most freakishly athletic point guards in the game, injuries hit the 2011 MVP and left Westbrook as the lone uberly-athletic point guard specimen in the league.

Rose explained that while the two have worked out together this summer, their approach to the game has vast differences which differentiated them then as much as it does so now.

“It’s different with Wes,” Rose told Steve Serby of the New York Post. “Wes plays with some type of meanness to him, mean streak to him. I never played with a mean streak to me, I just played to play. I can’t play that way, upset or mad. Wes seems like he thrives off that. When I’m on the court, I’m a totally different player.”

Westbrook has always seemed to have a penchant for competing on the court, whether it is outscoring opposing guards or outmuscling them on the post, or even staying in front of them on defense, it's that maniacal approach to competition that gives him the edge over most players at his position.

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Rose was a reckless train during his MVP season; his elite athleticism and improved shot-making were key to the Chicago Bulls 62-20 season. However, his competitiveness had a different tone compared to Westbrook's – it wasn't as personal as it was doing what it takes to win games.

“I don’t know where it comes from, I don’t know what it is but, I don’t know, it’s some type of confidence level in me just knowing how hard I work,” added Rose. “If my mean streak is a Chicago way of playing basketball, like not backing down. We use the term ‘not going.' Like I’m not backing down away from no challenge. I play to win, then it comes out in that way.”