>> ron: welcome to the broadcast. tonight two remarkable young men have done on extraordinary job in what they do. they are nba stars, lebron james first and then chris paul. (cheers and applause) >> is every part of the dream then realized for you? >> i'm almost there. >> ron: one big thing. >> one more dream. >> ron: the nba championship. >> absolutely, you got it. >> ron: and last year when you didn't get it, how did

that hit you? >> it hurt. any time i said i would go and, you know, i feel like just i can reach it, it's right there and it doesn't happen t hurts. it hurts. >> ron: but tell me more. so you were there and you saw the lakers take it. >> the lakers are, the championship goes to l.a. now of course. but we feel like we were right there and we didn't, you know, hold up our end of the bargain. so we got another season. we're looking forward to this one now. i know i got a teammate of mine that will help me get there. >> ron: by the name of shaq. >> by the name of shaq. >> ron: what does he add? >> he adds a low pulse presence that i haven't had. >> ron: so you go down the paint, you got a place you can drop it off. >> absolutely. and phone i don't go down the paint i can also give him the ball and let him go to work also. he does great. >> ron: and you're to the worried about him being

pushed out of the way. >> if anyone can push shaq out of the way, find him for me. >> looking, looking. find paul with two, with one, paul for the win. >> the competition is amazing. people always ask me what is it like to play in the nba. and you know, everyone, you know, i always talk about how they clof college basketball because they feel guys in the -- from playing in the nba i can speak from experience there are no nights off. are you playing against the most finally tuned athletes in the world night in and night out. and if you don't bring your a game you will be embarrassed. you will be embarrassed especially in our league. so i know there are so many different things now that when i first came in it was about how fast can i do it. how fast i can do it. and now it's about how efficient can i be. >> ron: lebron james, kristopher belman and chris paul when we continue.

>> additional funding for charlie rose was also provided by these funders. >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information worldwide. >> from our studios in new york city, this is captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> lebron james and kristopher belman are here n 2002 belman began filming the varsity city basketball team in st. vincent, st. mary as part of a college

court in documentary filmmaking. the assignment was to make a ten minute movie. sen year later that movie is made into the feature film "more than a game" and here is a look at the trailer. >> been dubbed the chosen run. >> lebron james. >> the best high school basketball player i have ever seen. >> are you serious? >> you can see the lebron phenomenon growing. >> this all started in a little gym with a linoleum floor. >> i was about to coach the travel basketball team. i knew a very good player and his name was lebron james. >> when ep was young we came together as a team. >> drew was kind of a hot head. he didn't want anybody to say anything about his size. >> we play ten games of one-on-one and not leave until i win. >> i wasn't very good. he was big but he wasn't very good. >> one thing that you need to be, -- eat wheaties.

>> he had been through so much. >> he was just a little bit more mature than the other guys. >> i definitely learned a lot from my brother about sacrifice. that is probably the hardest time in his life. >> i never thought basketball was going to be my future. i just wanted to play just because it gets you girls. >> lebron. >> he and his mom had some tough early years. >> we opinionly moved 12 times. the hardest thing for me was meeting new friend, going to new schools all the time. i wanted to finally have some brothers that i can be loyal to. i think we all kind of shared that bond. >> senior year there were five of us. hands on each other's shoulders, nothing going to stand in our way, nothing is going to separate us. >> these are young kids and they started blowing teams out. >> 5-and-0, 15-and-0, 20-and-0. >> they couldn't believe we are were still winning. >> lebron james is in ineligible to play. >> if we were ever unified

we need to be more unified today. >> the team was like a family. you play your heart out for your family. >> this was our last opportunity to do what we had been dream being since the fifth grade and that was doing the national championship. >> i want you guys to just for one minute try to grasp this thing, to be where you guys are at is a blessing that you guys will only understand later in life. >> so here we go. the high school national championship on the line. >> more than a game. >> it will always be about more than basketball. >> that 24 lebron james is already one of the nba's greatest players. last season he was the league mvp. i am pleased to have christopher belman and lebron james at this table for the first time. welcome. >> thanks for having us. >> appreciate it. >> appreciate it. >> great to you have here. >> appreciate it. >> it's a good film. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> seven years ago. >> seven and a half, a long time. >> it tells the story of

what in your mind. >> i think it tells the story of the american dream. i think it tells the story of overcoming any obstacles that get in someone away to go after something that you want, you know. these are four boys, eventually a fifth one is added, five boys chasing something that a lot of people would never even dream about because it is such an unreachable goal. but together they are able to achieve that and if doing so, they form a brotherhood. they become men, you know. and they forge relationships that have lasted beyond an nba career and probably will last the rest of their lives. that is really what the film is about. >> that's it, isn't it. >> exactly right. >> the bond of friendship on a goal. >> that's exactly what it. you know, coach drew always said use the game and don't let it use you. and when you are a kid you really don't understand what that means until you -- as an adult i kind of understand like wow, we used the game and we didn't let it use us. and we used it to create

friendship, create loyalty, create an opportunity for us to become better as people off the court more than just on the court. >> but they have been with us beyond that, which is remarkable. and you need them and they need you, you know. and the bond as he said continues. >> absolutely. still to this day. >> and how does it work out? >> maverick handles the business end. >> yeah, maverick is a big part of the business end. you know, the guys that i grew up with in high school, two of them are still playing basketball professionally overseas. another one is work on his masters and is a grad assistant at the university of ago ron. and the other one is still pursuing his nfl career. he is now playing at walsh university in canton, ohio. he's work on getting his degree also. so we all, like i say, are successful. >> you got this movie coming out. you are in another movie. what is it called, fantasy.

>> fantasy. the next one. >> are you thinking about acting as your second career. >> i'm not sure. i think with the right opportunity i am going to give it a good shot and i think the fantasy basketball camp is a great opportunity. >> seven years to make a film. you lived with these guys. tell me about this guy. i mean look at this. this is "time" magazine, "sports illustrated", here's "sports illustrated" again. here's "sports illustrated" again and here with tom brady's wife. >> pie good buddy tom. >> i mean lebron, most people know lebron as the athlete and they see him in the commercials. he's going to be phenomenal as an actor because he is so natural in front of the camera but i think what i learn about lebron and i think what the film shows people is just how authentic he is as a person. i think i done know i guess

i've never really met someone that is so comfortable with who they are. you know, at such a young age i think that confidence and all those thingsing a lot of that came from a life perspective and going through things that he went through as a child. it gave him a grounding and a big picture perspective where when adversity and things like that hit him later in life, he takes it in stride because he has already accomplished so many things that most kids will never have to go through. >> speak to that because it is true. >> i think of who i am today is because of all the trials and triblations and hardships i went through as a kid. >> like. >> growing up in a single parent household with just me and my mother and having to grow up. having to become the man of the house. at a young age. at six and seven years old an having okay, now, you know, i have to make sure that my mother is protected. that helps you grow up a lot faster. growing up in the inner city where you see a lot of things that you never want your kids to see. and it just humbled me. it humbled me and i think the city of ago ron where i grew up every day for giving

me those hard shims because it basically set me up for who i am today. >> is every part of the dream then realized for you? >> i'm almost there. >> one big thing. >> one more dream. >> the nba. >> the nba championship, absolutely. you got it. >> and last year, when you didn't get it, how did that hit you. >> it hurt. any time i said i would go and, you know, i feel like i can reach it and it's like right there and it doesn't happen, it hurts. it hurts. >> but tell me more. so you were there and you saw the lakers take it. >> well, the lakers, aren't the championship goes to l.a. now of course. but we're -- we felt like we were right there and we didn't, you know, hold up our end of the bargain so we got another season. and we are looking forward to this one now. i know i got a teammate of mine that will help me get there. >> by the name of shaq.

>> what does he add. >> he adds a low pulse presence that i haven't had. >> so you go down the paint. you got a place you can drop it off. >> absolutely. and even if i don't go down the paint i can also give him the ball and let him go to work also. he's great. >> nd you're not worried about him being pushed out 69 way. >> if anyone can push shaq out of the way, find him for me. the rivalry with could bee, i mean most look at the two of you and say they are the greatest players playing today and the question is, you know, who succeeds michael as the greatest player in the game today. without suggesting, would you have an opinion on that? >> well, i think no one can succeed michael. i mean you look at his resume it's unbelievable. he's done everything that you can do as an athlete, winning championships, individual accolades and everything. no one can, he's the greatest basketball player that ever walked the face of the earth. >> and why is he that, because of his ability to

win. >> absolutely. >> at the crucial moment. >> absolutely. >> you know, to be able to win this is a team sport. and to be able to carry his team and win in the biggest level no mater what level he was at, the biggest game, he always did that. after the team was made complete by the coach putting together the right five guys or seven guys. >> absolutely. >> and you think are you there now with the cavaliers. >> i think we there. >> you had a good start last year. >> great start. great start. but a team needed one more solid guy. >> i think we have him. >> is your game -- help me out. is your game complete? >> i don't think so. i don't think so. i feel at 24 years old there's no way that my game can be complete. too much more to learn. too much more to see. too much more to experience. and i feel like i've gotten

better every year. >> well, take from the year before to the last year. better in shooting. better in rebounding. better in team, understanding the game. >> i think better in leadership. >> leadership. vocally. making sure that my guys were always prepared to go out and play the game of basketball every night. >> you have to create your own presence there for this. >> absolutely. >> who are your heroes? >> my one hero is my mother. >> she has become familiar news her enright. >> she is taking more towards than me these days. >> you can say this is lebron and lebron can i speak to gloria. >> exactly. she is taking my photos. she was my number one hero. >> because -- without her. >> yeah there is no me. >> there was no firm rock for you. >> no way, no way. the strength that she showed, see, as a kid you kind of, you don't really understand it until you get older and you have your own family. and now me having two sons of my own, i have no idea

how she raised me or any kid by herself and not being able to be financially stable. >> in a tough environment. >> very tough. >> how do you pay back to her other than love? i didn't mean by material possessions. >> i just always give back to her by just showing that i appreciate her. i don't take for granted her being my mother. >> you look at all this and you say without her -- >> that's it. >> you substitute my head for her head an future on a magazine. >> was there anything you couldn't, didn't get with this film that you wish you could have gotten or in seven years did you get everything you need to tell the story you wanted to tell? >> i feel great about the finished product. i, there is nothing in there, part of the great thing about the fill some that it was a truly independent film. you know, from like the deepest sense of the word it started out as a school project.

and these guys let me be a part of their life. i made a promise to them that the goal of the film wasn't going to change no matter what happened. so five and a half years in i'm still doing by myself. i was finally able to bring in some pieces to take it to the neck level. bring in some financing. start working with a professional crew. that wasn't going to change the focus of the film just because at this point lebron is just killing in the nba. that wasn't going to change the focus of the film at all. i couldn't be more excited and proud of how the finished product was. it is exactly the film i told these guys i was going to make seven and a half years ago. i wouldn't change a thing. >> why is the title more than a game. >> it speaks kind of the movie speaks for itself. the game of basketball was just a vehicle that we used. i still believe -- >> to show these values. >> i still believe it could have been anything it could have been basketball, it could have been football it could have been the chess club it could have been a cheerleading team or guys, fireman or nurses. it shows the camaraderie

that kids had and these group of kids, inner city kids having a dream. and all of them putting their dreams together on let's figure out we can make this dream become reality. and then having an adult, which is coach drew, giving us opportunities to make that dream become reality. and we took full advantage of it. >> i want to see a scene from the film now and coach drew is encouraging you guys. tell me about him. >> words can't explain what coach drew has done. >> it's just an amazing. >> he is an amazing person. he never -- he -- when you hear a coach you always think okay, xs and os. he rarely spoke about the game of basketball. it was all about how did he make us become young men. how does he set us up for after the game of basketball. because basketball only last force so long when you can do it at a high level. and he put it put us in a position to be able to sit down and talk to charlie rose or sit down in front of

second graders and give them a speech. >> or play golf with bill gates. >> absolutely. >> by the way, how is your golf. >> my golf is getting better. i do it a lot better on the video games right now. >> but is it something you want to do, learn, play. >> yes, absolutely. absolutely. >> you will ask warren and bill for a return engagement. >> exactly. you know, we had that little wager we had go on out there too. >> i remember. take a look. this is coach drew, this remarkable coach who is at the centre of this film as well. here it is. >> three seconds left. for three, he has won the first half of this basketball game. >> they have an 11-1 run in the last four minutes and ten secretaries. >> i'm thinking not again. not two years in a row.

>> it is not about the xs and os right now. it's not. ness i want you guys to just for one minute try to grasp this thing. have an opportunity that you guys have been given. look around the room, guys. hey. let's be real about this. some of these guys, drew, willie, you will never play another game of basketball. >> to be where you guys are at, it's just a blessing that you guys will only understand later in life. >> what's happened because of to coach drew. >> coach drew is still giving those inspirational speeches to the high school. as a matter of fact, congratulate, they just won the state championship this past march again.

so puts another state championship under his belt. >> but it does say lot about leadership too in terms of understanding that he couldn't play the game for you. there was no strategy to be imbueed. >> what it was was to understand the moment. >> understand the moment and respect the game and the game gives back to you. >> yeah. compare how he is with say the coach who coached you in the olympics. >> i think they are very similar. because coach k is also one of those inspirational guys. he, you know, he gets you fired up for the game. but he also allowed to you go play the game. you know, he kind of sits back and he implements the blueprint and he asks you to go execute it. that is the same way coach drew was. >> taking the "sports illustrated" cover this was february 18th, 2002. all right, you were a mere what, 17 years old. >> 17 years old. did everybody there know that this is where it's going to end up and -- that

it was going to be what it is today? were there just feeling. i mean -- >> i mean the future was to be had. >> yeah, i mean i can't speak for everyone, obviously. but i think there is the general sense within the community as time went on junior year, senior year, i think it was, you know t was inevitable, okay, maybe will go to a top division one school. that was like as a sophomore. as a junior i was like i don't think this guy is going to college. >> when did you make the decision? >> i didn't make the decision until after we won a national championship game. my senior year. >> right after this game. >> right after that game. >> you said i'm going to the pros. and did you council anybody and say listen, i think i'm ready do. think i'm ready or did lebron know and that is all he needed. >> lebron knew he was ready. and i give allotted of credit to my mother because any decision i always make she said, i told my mother she say okay, that's the decision are you comfortable with. i said yes. she is like go for it. >> that is what she says.

if you know your heart, i'm with you. >> absolutely. >> but there, if you look back at everybody there, i mean it is, it says something special also they stay together. >> it's unbelievable. and that's the thing. that is the question i always get are they really close to this day. and absolutely. i mean they're probably even closer. geographically they are further apart a lot of times and they are all so busy like lebron said. they are all so successful in their own rights but when they are back, they are either at his games. he goes to their games to watch the college games or whatever. they are just as close if not closer because their lifes are becoming more full and now they are part of each other's family life. it is unbelievable. it is unique it is a unique relationship and i don't think you see a lot of young men have and that is one of the things i found interesting. i thought the film could look at and hopefully break some stereotypes as far as male bonding especially amongst athletesing things you don't see a lot of times. >> one thing you need i'm sure you know and i'm not one to tell you but your mother has told you.

you need someone that will tell you the truth. >> absolutely. >> if you have people that have been with you for the whole ride, they are more likely to tell you the truth, right? >> that's right. that is absolutely right. >> so these guys are not saying he's the meal ticket. >> we call him yesman, i have no yesmen around me. >> because they don't -- >> they do you know good. >> do you know good. >> a lot of the footage we didn't clue was the guys clowning each other, he was never anything more. >> if i'm to the doing what i need to be doing, they are on me. they are letting me know you need to get your stuff together. >> what did your mother say to you after the last game of the nba finals last year? >> well, my mother was at the game. and she was just as up set as i was. >> up set because you didn't think you had done as well as you could or up set. >> up set that we had lost and our season was over. because she wants me to continue to be successful. and she knows how hard i work and she know how much time i put into it. for the season to be cut short of what my expectation was, she was kind of up set about that. >> what is interesting about you two is you have drawn

not just your classmates from ago ron but also people like warren buffett who likes you, admires you, and a whole range of other people. tell me about warren and that friendship. >> warren is -- to be as successful as warren is and he's really successful, he is one of the most -- i think we get along because we're kind of like -- we're hum bld by our success. we are not -- we don't raise our head level above anybody with our success. the more successful you get, the more humble we become. and i think you know, you've been around him and i've been around him a lot. he's one of the post down to earth guys i've ever met. when it comes to just living the life. i mean and you -- looking in you would never think this guy is worth this. and he has all of this. and why do he need to be down to earth.

he doesn't have to be. >> you seek counsel from him more than just simply business counsel. >> absolutely. >> about living and about -- >> it's all about knowledge. i mean he's been on this world a lot longer than myself. he knows the ins and outs. his knowledge is of self means more to me than a financial statement or anything. just his knowledge of life. >> what do you think the potential of basketball is internationally? >> huge. >> it's just beginning. >> it's just beginning. >> you have the dream team and this year and you've got -- in many cases the second most popular sport in the world, isn't it? >> yeah, yeah. besides soccer, absolutely. i can remember just five years ago going to china. and just recently being there a few weeks ago. the -- how the game has just broadened and that just five years. it's huge. >> you are the second most popular basketball player in china. >> yeah, behind yao.

>> i mean don't they televise all the houston rockets game back to them. >> yeah. >> tell me your all-star team in the nba. >> current or all time. >> well, first current. >> my all-star team current would be chris paul. >> he's your point guard. >> he's my point guard. >> why chris. >> chris paul is, he's a unique, he reminds me of my point guard in high school, drew joyce. the he's too small factor okay, well i'm going to use that as motivation. and now chris is the best point guard we have in our league. i have -- see i have a split, my two guards between could bey bryant and dwayne wade. >> that's hard. >> i don't know which -- so we go -- can't we make kobe a forward maybe. >> yeah, why not. >> let's do it. so dwayne wade and kobe small forward. >> and me at the power forward. >> and we put shaq. >> the big guy in the middle.

>> put the big guy in the middle. >> we could win some games. >> with you the coach. >> there you go. there you go. >> i will be the water boy. you be the filmer. >> we got it. and who would you choose as a coach. >> who would i choose, so we are going to make you, you will be the general manager. >> exactly. >> exactly. the coach we are going to pick -- >> i want to be the danny ferry or whatever. we both went to duke, this could work. >> that could work. and the coach, we can -- i mean with that team, i mean we can have anyone with that team. i mean you know. >> we don't need a coach. >> maybe we don't. >> yes we do. >> tell me why you need a coach. >> because the coach sets the players up to execute the game plan. you always, you have to have a captain of the ship. and you know you have to have soldiers but you have to have the captain to make sure those guys are going in the right direction. >> let's move to all time historical team. we clearly want magic. >> my all-time historical team is see i'm going to

change roster spots again because i feel like these player kos play any position. and i take magic johnson at the 1. >> i would too. >> i would michael jordan at the two. >> that's not bad. >> i will take larry byrd at the three. >> that's good. >> he's really good. >> unbelievable. and i would take, see, now here goes the roster spots. i would take kareem abdul jabbar. >> so where is my ban bill russell. >> he's at the five. there you go. there you go. there you go. >> that's a team. >> an james naysmith is my coach. the guy who invented the game of basketball. now suppose that team, and you didn't put yourself on, those are historical. >> that team playing the team that we predicted first. who win approximates? >> you know, no one will win, you know why. >> no, the fans win. >> no one will win because if we beat that team, they would not let us get off the curt and if they beat us we wouldn't let them get off the court well. would play all day, all night. >> you got it.

>> you got a lot to do and i don't want to take too much time. i want to take one look at this segment from this film. roll tape. this you in your teammates talking about the brotherhood that we have talked about here. roll tape. >> we were winning the way we were supposed to win. we were winning by defense. my teammates is like my brothers. and you know, coaches like my brothers. you know we all are big fans. >> the team seems like more guys are getting into the mix. >> there is a chemistry. honest leigh last year we didn't have. and there there is a commitment here to defend. >> we wanted because we wering to. we won because we respected coach drew as a coach, as a mentor, as a leader. and we have one goal, and that was to win a national championship. and we wouldn't let nothing stand in our way.

>> just want to show some clips and have both of them speak to it. the next clip is coach k who i admire greatly as he knows and lebron add muirs greatly from playing for him. roll tape this is coach k on this show talking about lebron's mind after watching him play cards in beijing. here it is. >> you talk about him, lebron, just for a moment. >> i love lebron. >> when he is playing cards he's always -- >> his mind is always working. on the first trip we were at i saw him playing cards. they weren't playing for a lot of money but he knew what everybody had. what everyone bet. and afterwards i told him, i said you have a great mathematical mind. and i'm sure no one in the world has ever told him that with his body that he has had a great mathematical mind. he says i knows what's going on coach. and i said well i'm going to count on you -- >> where does that come from, court sense, know what it is, where your teammates are. >> it just a love of the game. and that's another thing coach drew always said, i

always paid attention to detail. i have always wanted to know not only for myself but my teammates, my opposition. i have always been in tune like that ever since i was a kid. >> roll tape. this is magic johnson. >> i tell you what, this lebron james, though, he has it. and he's special. and i think he's going to win the mvp this year. >> do you think he will ever play for the new york knicks? >> i think -- think think lebron james is definitely going to play in new york. i don't know which team. but he is definitely going to play here. >> from your mouth to my ears. >> so just tell us not whether are you going to come to income or not or go somewhere else. because you and i were on the golf course and you said to me, i'm going to play this year and then look at all the optionsment i owe that to myself and my mother and people who are a part of lebron's team. >> right. >> how will you decide? >> well, i want to win.

and i have always been a winner. and i feel like cleveland can win, also, of course. without question i think danny and the gms and the ownership have been great. but at the same time, you know, as an athlete and competitor you want to continue to be successful at the highest level. so like i said i'm looking forward to this season. it's go stock unbelievable and i'm not going to be a distraction for my team about the free agency and anything like that. but when that moment comes upon, i'll be ready for it. >> you will be ready to make the choice when it comes. >> absolutely. >> but your goal is to do what cleveland has been good to you. >> been great. >> great to you. you like ohio. >> love it. >> gloria james loves ohio. >> right. she's even said -- (laughter) >> she said more than that too but that is all they put out there. >> what else did she say.

>> i don't know. >> so anybody that tries to get you to say where you are going to go you can't say because you don't know. >> no, i'm very happy in cleveland right now. >> an even happy that shaq's coming. >> absolutely. >> all right. take a look at this and then i want to you plaex -- explain this and we will leave you. roll tape, one last thing from my friends over at 60 -- "60 minutes," here it is. are you anyplace even remotely close to your peak? >> i don't want to say i got a long way to go. i don't think i got a long way to go. but it's going to take a little process. >> okay, sit down. are you going to do anything with this. >> who, me? i'm not -- >> you got. >> how many times can you do that in a row. >> on one take, baby, that's all. i'm just one take. >> of all the shots you've made -- (laughter) >> let that be known that wasn't no digitized, there

was no editing. >> ask steve, you can can ask steve. >> steve kroft will be here to testify as it happens. >> absolutely. >> so luck or -- skill. >> skill. >> he did that in practice all the time. that was like all the time. >> a little bit of skill. >> it's like roger federer between the legs, did you see that. >> there you go, that was awesome. >> shooting stars lebron james, author of friday night life and other very good books, a companion book or a become also about this remarkable story of finding an opportunity and using that opportunity with friends and through the good guidance of a remarkable mother. to achieve something very special, the interesting thing is that the journey continues and we'll see how it happens. the movie will be at your local theatres soon, i guess. >> october 2nd. >> october 2nd. >> thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> great to see you again. >> thanks a lot.

a pleasure. >> we continue this evening with chris paul in an interview that i did before the conversation with lebron james and christopher bell -- kristopher bell-. here is the introduction and the conversation with chris paul. >> chris paul. >> chris paul is here growing up in rural north carolina. he had the common dream of one day reaching the nba in his sophomore year in high school being less than five feet tall, left little hope that he would even make the varsity team. today he is widely coidered to be the best point guard in the nba. in 2008 was runner-up to kobe bryant as the league's mvp. he writes about his improbable journalee in long shot, never too small to dream big. i am pleased to have chris paul at the show for the first time. welcome. >> thanks for having me.

>> what town are you from in north carolina. >> winston-salem. i'm from louisville north carolina but everyone knows win stole salem. >> do you get home much. >> during the summer. as soon as the season is over i'm back but never during the season. >> both parent as live. >> yes. >> they must love having -- having the opportunity to stay in the neighborhood. >> my parents are huge sports fanatics and this he are my biggest fans and i love them to death. >> how many brothers and sisters. >> one older brother. >> and he works with you as a kind of business. >> yes, sir. >> tell me first about what you want us to understand about long shot. >> yes, the name of the book is long shot, never too small to dream big. and it is about spreading my story to kids. kids are truly my passion. and what better way than to write a book about the challenges that i faced growing up. >> how many people said you would never make it. >> oh, man, if i had a dollar i -- i would be -- i would be rich. but it is so funny because

those same people are some of my best friends today. you know, and i use that as motivation. growing up my older brother was always, you can't come. you're too small. his friends told me that i was too small. i was the carolina fan growing up. i know are you a dukeie. >> no, i was carolina. everybody, if you weren't a carolina fan than you were -- >> exactly, exactly. so i always said i wanted to go to carolina. one of his friends micrus el used to always tell me, are you too small. you'll never be able to go. so to one day have a scholarship offer from carolina, it was so fulfilling. and i remember i told mike, i said listen i'm going to wake forest but i could have went to carolina if i wanted to. >> why didn't you go to carolina? >> wake was just, it was a better fit nor me basketbal basketballwise. it was closer to home. and it a great academic school. >> tell me how did you it, though. most of us look at great odds and have great dreams. and some of us achieve those dreams surprisingly. >> right.

>> my answer is always just hard work. you work harder than everybody else. and that seems to be the answer for most people. >> right. >> what was it for you? >> for me it was a combination of the hard work, but at the same time, i was disciplined. very disciplined. and my parents -- >> purposeful work. >> yes, discipline. and my parents were very instrumental in that. and i'm very fortunate to have a mother and a father who have always been there for me in everything that i do. and it was, you know, i think it's what a 2.0 grade point average to be eligible forate let -- athletic sports. for me it was 3.0. it wasn't about what the school said, it was about what my parent said. so we've always set the bar higher than average. and i just always have been determined, and like i said, discipline. >> did you believe after your high school, after your college career that you would be, you know, a leading point guard in the nba. >> i hoped. i dreamed, you know. when i was in high school my freshman and sophomore year in high school i played jv

basketball. you know everyone plays always varsity. i was on the jv. so going to wake, didn't know what to expect. didn't know i was going to start. the starting point guard had an appendectomy before our first game. and had that not happened, i may not have started my first game in college. so everything happens for a reason. and you know, i thank god that i have been blessed with this wonderful opportunity to play a game that i love. >> i think michael jordan didn't make the varsity in his freshman year in high school. >> right, he got cut. >> he got cut. he got cut. so he had to play -- >> what does that say, physically you rent hadn't come of age or what. >> you know t is funny. because pie brother is two years older than me. so he was on the varsity team. and i remember my sophomore year, i was like man i want to play varsity, i want to play varsity. and the varsity coach said that he could put me on varsity but i wouldn't get in the game. so i was like no, no, i would rather play jv and get to practice. we went undefeated. >> what is the difference in

your game today when you entered the nba. >> oh, man, when i see pictures from me, my rookie year, i really look like a little boy, like a little lost boy. so i definitely have matured, you know, physically but more so mentally. >> but help us understand what it takes to be in the nba and how different the nba is than college ball. >> it's very different. and when are you in college, you go to classes. the coachs are telling you what to do and different things like that. when you get to the nba it is a bunch of grown men. so you know, you come to practice and different things like that. but you know, they're not going to hold your hand. you have to do it yourself and i think that's what separates the greats from just the guys that are in the nba. the guys that are their leader, the elite work hard day in and day out and never take that break. >> and how about shooting. >> shooting, that is very, very key. you know with me being small all the time, i was usually a shooting guard on my team. and then i just worked on my ball handling and tried to combine it all.

but if you can shoot the basketball, it's always a spot on the team for you, i guarantee that you. >> if you can put it in. >> if you can put it in that hole there is a spot on that team for you. >> who do you admire most, who are your -- the people that i admire most are my parents. >> certainly. >> my parents. >> they gave you what? >> oh my goodness, everything, everything. they gave me life. they gave me this opportunity. i mean my dad, me and my brother when we were growing up he spent his entire 401(k) on me and my brother playing au basketball and different things like that. so they not only gave us that but they just gave us that love and support that not everybody has. >> but you, when you went from college you played two seasons, correct. >> right. >> and you were nba rookie of the year. >> yes, sir. >> i mean so that was unexpected. >> right. >> nobody, when you went to the nba said chris going to

be the nba freshman rookie of the year. >> no, no. >> so how is that? i mean why is it you constantly surprised people sm. >> it may be my work ethic. and it's all about situations too. i was blessed to go into a great situation. when i got drafted to the hornets there wasn't a point guard so i was thrown into the fire. i had an opportunity to learn and play at the same time. you know whereas a lot of guys come into situations and you learn from the bench. you know. so there is a guy in front of you and the coach is like you watch him, and then you learn. i got a chance to make mistakes and learn at the same time. >> so what is the possibility of getting you and lebron to come to new york to play? >> i don't know. i know -- >> you're having dinner with him tonight. would you find out for us. >> i will see -- his contract is up before mine. so -- >> it is up at the end of the year. >> yeah, yeah. >> and he clearly is going to look at the options. >> i'm sure, i'm sure.

>> he said that to me. he is going to look at the options. >> yeah, exactly. so. >> but his parents, his mother thinks he will stay in cleveland. he wants to be close to home. >> it's definitely possible. i could understand that, you know. and that was part of me with going to college, wake forest, that was in my backyard. i was five minutes away from my grandmother's cooking. >> the best conference to play in too. >> you know it. you know it and wake forest is the best school, right. >> well, i don't know that. although i have great admiration for it. it is just the big four, it is a huge place. >> yeah. >> and great sense of competition in the nba and -- i mean in north carolina. >> right. >> talk about skills, though. tell me about what it is we don't know about basketball at the pro level. >> the competition is amazing. people always ask me what is it like to play in the nba. and you know everyone, you know, i always talk about how they love college basketball because they feel guys in the nba take nights off and things like that. but from playing in the nba i can speak from experience,

there are no nights off. are you playing against the most finely tuned athletes in the world night in and night out. and if you don't bring your a game you will be embarrassed. you will be embarrassed especially in our league. so i know there are so -- notice so many different things now. when i first came in now it is about how fast can i do it, how fast i can do it. and now it is about how efficient can i be. >> how efficient. >> that the difference that separates the greats is that you know, my rookie year i may have taken five shots and made two. now you need to make three or four out of five. >> and are you shooting for five out of five. >> exactly, exactly. >> how do you practice, i mean tell me what it is that, when you, when you want to improve the game in the way you have, what's the routine. >> yes, yes. and that's what i focused on most this summer was. >> this summer preparing for this season. >> for this season. is the intensity of my workouts. my workouts, i made sure they are tough like almost about to die at the end of

it. and that way when i work out, the games come easy. >> yeah. >> if i go as hard as i can in the workout whence it comes to the games, it will be a breeze. >> how much of it is natural ability and how much of it is simply determination, dedication, and hard work? >> maybe 30, 30, 40%. >> is natural. >> is natural ability but the other is hard work. and -- speed, hand-eye coordination, things like that. >> physicality. >> but majority of it is heart. >> and how much of it is being smart on the court. >> s thatee a lot of it. >> which kobe has and lebron has i'm sure and you do. >> right, right. >> and michael had. >> yeah, mj definitely had. >> mj is the greatest player to play the game. >> yeah, i think so. i'm a huge mj fan. >> and who's better, kobe or lebron. >> oh, man. >> who would you choose, who would you choose? >> let me explain the table

to you. i ask the questions and you answer them. >> but you want me to tell you that. >> it's like duke versus wake. >> i'm fortunate enough to have been on that usa team to where i didn't have to choose. hi kobe on one wing and i had lebron. >> and guess who the coach was. >> coach k. >> there you go. exactly. and he's coming back i think. >> yes, yes he's coming back. >> it is as good tas can get. >> definitely, definitely. i've always said me scoring 61 points in high school for my late grandfather was the great east chievement i've had. >> 61 points in high school for your late grandfather. my granted father was murdered by five teenagers. and the day after his funeral i scored 61 points. and he was 61 years old. when he died. >> were you determined to do that when you worked on the course that night. >> yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. the most high score before that was 34 points in a game. and before the game, my aunt sort of mentioned it to me.

and i was like man is this really possible. and you know t was two and a half minutes left in the game and i had 59 points scored a shot and got fouled. and that was it. >> how close were you to him. >> oh, very close, my grandfather nathanial jones. >> is in the book that was my best friend. a lot of times kids have a teammate or something like that,. >> and how did you deal with the sorrow, pain. >> grief. >> it was tough. it was tough. you definitely wanted to give up, i didn't think i would play ball any more. but.grand dad was pie biggest fan. and if he was here right now, if he knew i was on the charlie rose show, you know, he would, he wouldn't believe it he wouldn't believe t seriously. >> he would probably believe it. look at the fierceness of the eyes there. talk about eyes playing basketball. >> it's another world for me. and it's funny because just about every picture i ever had from me playing basketball, my face is -- my

face is always crazy. my girlfriend always says look at your face. look at your face. and the thing is, is that when i'm playing baum i'm in another world. i tell people i'm two totally different people on the court and off the court. >> can i get back to the lebron kobe question. >> oh my goodness. >> just, because are you on the court with them. >> right. >> size up, how are they different. >> okay, i can answer that. because you can't go wrong with picking either one of them. >> exactly. >> you can't go wrong with pick either one of them. and both of them have strength. >> there is no real answer to the question. >> lebron is a freak athlete. >> a freak athletes let. >> yes, yes, in that shall did -- you said that. >> yes, yes, i did. and he knows it too. so -- >> in that he has what. >> he has everything that you -- you he know, he has the court vision that me and tony, jason kidd, all of us point guards haveness. >> he has that. the court vision. >> right. >> that jason has and parker has. >> he has all those

different type things. >> plus he has -- he has the physique of a linebacker, you know, in the nfl. >> or a tightened but he is standing 6 foot 8. and then kobe just had the killer instinct. >> so kobe has a bigger killer instinct than lebron and lebron has more athletic ability than kobe. >> lebron probably has more athletic ability than anybody, anybody. but it's a lot of different guys that have that killer instinct, you know, i like to think i do too. it's just kobe goes, he's an assassin, you know, i mean the way he shoots the ball and different things lia shot, , you like man that was a tough shot but you know he practiced it. you know. >> exactly. that's exactly right. >> exactly. >> it's like people who can hit these really difficult golf shots like tiger. you know tiger has practiced that shot 250,000 times. >> exactly. >> knowing that one day behind the tree, you know,

hooking the ball into the green would get him there. >> i will have to put this ball under this car, over this -- and still it will go in the hole. >> back being a point guard. you bring the ball down the court. >> yes, sir. >> you're the guy. you are the quarterback for the team. >> yes. >> you pay football in high school. >> yes. >> did you want to play football ever professional football. >> i did. i actually played varsity football and jv basketball at one point. a little bit backwards. >> in western side high school. i loved it but during the summer i came back. the guys got too big, too strong. i was like listen, you can have that. it was too hot during the summers. and i was like all right, i'm done with football after my sophomore year. >> you went from playing duke to syracuse starting quarterback. >> that's pretty serious. me and gregg, actually, he was in 8th grade. >> gregg paul he little bit of eligibility. >> he was in the 8th grade

and played on my team in microall american camp when i was a sophomore or junior. >> but see that's interesting. nike all-american camp. the way basketball works today there are scouts that have their eyes on young talent like you. >> right. >> early on. >> right, right. >> and -- when was the first time you heard from somebody that you didn't know saying -- >> the summer before my junior year. >> junior year. >> summer before your junior year. >> summer before my junior year. all my a teammates were getting letters from colleges. and i remember i played in a big game in orlando. and all the coachs were there to see andre and all these guys from illinois teams. and my team was a young team and i scored 34 points. i get back from the game to louisville and the next week i get letters from michigan state, uconn, all these colleges that say they saw me play one game. i always tell people i got a college scholarship off of

one game. one game they saw me play. >> uconn is very good about that. >> they saw me play one game. >> did you really want to go to duke? >> duke. >> yeah. >> no, no i was a carolina fan. >> you went to wake. >> right, right, but still, you know carolina and duke, that's not going to mix. that doesn't mix. >> i like carolina because i like -- >> i was at carolina basketball camp. >> pook the took the picture by the tree with the dean. >> it is funny when i played with the usa team everyone it pratt is how is it going to be playing for a duke coach. you went to wake forest. when you play for the usa, all that stuff is put way behind you. you are playing for america. it's not about wake. at he not about duke. it's about winning this gold medal. >> what are all these illustrations about you. what should you say about them. >> the illustrations were so fun in creating the book because that is me and my brother. that is my mother there.

she used to wear that shall did -- she used to wear that hair style. and it's really a good picture of all of us. my grandfather is in here too. my grandfather is in the book. look at this picture of me when i was a kid, with a charlotte hornets warmup suit on. this is the last page of the book. >> oh, great. >> so this is nathanial jones here. >> pie grandfather. >> the most influential person other than your moth never your life. >> yeah, definitely, yes. he had the first african-american owned service station in north carolina. >> there you go. >> this is a story about family too, isn't it. >> it is, it is. >> great to you have on the program. >> thanks for having me. >> one last question i forgot to ask you about. new orleans, how is it doing? as a city. >> better. better. definitely doing better. you know, all the main attractions are there. all the tourists are coming back but the city definitely could still use some help. >> the food is there, the pit is there. >> i love it. >> some parts of the city

built back. >> right, right but there is still a lot of work that can be done. through my foundation and so many different things that we are trying to do, it's going to be back. >> have you met brad pitt. >> i haven't had an opportunity to meet brad yet. but i hopefully i will get to meet him soon. >> you know kevin june son. >> yes. >> he's a friend of mine. he's a good guy too, he's mayor. >> yes, the mayor of sacramento. >> i'm a big fan of kd. >> he was pretty damn good. >> i wish i could jump the way he did. i was actually here with him about a month ago at an event here in new york. >> yeah. well, listen, it is a remarkable story. it is a long shot and dreaming big is a big thing. >> yes, yes. >> having having determination to see those dreams fulfilled and one of the things too t obviously a basketball book because i pay basketball but the never too small to dream big relates to anyone. >> the life. >> life, anything it may not be basketball. it may be school or if you are trying to work for any small business or anything

like that, just don't sell yourself short. >> thank you very much. >> no problem. thank you so much. >> yes, sir. >> come over down to henderson and see us. >> definitely. >> we would welcome you. >> all right. >> all right. >> yes, sir. >> chris paul, the book is long shot, never too small to dream big, an incredible story of an incredible young man. thank you for joining us. see you next time. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org