Bogues was only 1. 6 metres tall, which made him the shortest player ever in the NBA. Guess what? Paul was only 1. 6 metres tall, too! Paul knew that being shorter than other players meant that he had to practise more. During all those hours of doing jump shots on his own, he used Bogues as his     1    . Paul once said, “If Bogues could make it, why not me?”

Our coach was not so sure. Paul had to     2    many times just for making the team. He was still usually on the bench, being just a replacement,     3    was really tough on him. Everyone knew Paul had real skills, and was someone who worked really hard and had a strong     4    to play for the team. However, Paul didn’t get a chance.