Houston Rockets star Chris Paul has had a long history of being a rowdy point guard, one that unashamedly get under a player's skin, antagonizing him, provoking him until his breaking point. The Rockets point man has no shame in that, unapologetically going back even beyond to his college years at Wake Forest, remembering the incident with North Carolina State's Julius Hodge, who he punched in the nether area.

Off the record, Paul said the punch was instigated by something that was said to him, and back on the record, he made it clear: The punch was intentional.

“You think I go crazy during a game now?” Paul told Jordan Ritter Conn of The Ringer. “I used to really go crazy during the game.”

“I made a mistake or whatever, but my only regret is that I had to miss the next game.”

When it comes to regrets, there aren't many for the perennial All-Star point guard, other than he wishes he’d taken rehab more seriously after his first major injury, a meniscus tear in 2010.

“But as far as the way I play? No. If anybody doesn’t like the way I play, I don’t care. I don’t care,” said Paul. “I play that way, and if you don’t like it then…” He trails off, then shrugs. “If I’m not on your team, then don’t pick me. Don’t play with me. That’s all there is to it.”

Paul went from being the potential point-god heir to the likes of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash to transforming into a rugged dog, welcoming the grit of winning personal matchups and making his mark as a defender.

At 6-foot, Paul's lone advantage is his heart, his basketball know-how, and an indomitable spirit that has forged him as a longtime stalwart at both ends of the floor.