Since Lakers guard Rajon Rondo accused Chris Paul of being a “horrible teammate,” following Spitgate last month, Paul’s leadership has been the subject of regular debate. Former Paul teammate Glen Davis corroborated Rondo’s claim, Rockets wings Gerald Green and James Harden refuted it, but one essential piece, Paul’s longtime Clippers running mate Blake Griffin, had yet to weigh in.

That silence, albeit welcomed by those looking to move past the incident, was broken on Thursday when the now Pistons forward appeared on FS1’s First Things First.

Asked about the best and the toughest aspects of playing with Paul, Griffin cited Paul’s highly competitive nature for both counts.

"You know what you're getting every night with @CP3, he wants to win at all costs…and like all good players, he demands a lot out of his teammates." — @blakegriffin23 pic.twitter.com/HdPeKVKjyy — First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 1, 2018

Griffin: I think you know what you’re getting every night with CP. I mean, he wants to win at all costs, and he’s going to go out and he’s going to do everything possible to get that win. The toughest thing, like all good players, he demands a lot out of his teammates. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a tough thing, I think it’s a great thing. Nick Wright: You got to be built for it, though. Griffin: Yeah, you definitely have to be built for it. You have to want the same thing. You have to want to win every night, you have to want to play at a certain level, and he demands that out of you like a lot of other great players.

Griffin and Paul played six seasons together in Los Angeles, appearing in the post-season all six years, and earning more than half of the franchise’s playoff berths since relocating from San Diego in 1984. However, they never reached the Western Conference Finals.

Although a steady trickle of external speculation has leaked from Paul’s wounded reputation, his qualities as a teammate have never been openly doubted by the Rockets. Paul’s win-at-all-costs attitude pushed Houston to a franchise-best 65-17 record and a Conference Finals appearance in his first year with the team.