Paul Pierce will have his jersey retired this afternoon when the Celtics host and get their first glimpse of the retooled Cleveland Cavaliers.
Most of the talk heading into the game will center around the trade deadline moves, of Boston adding free agent Greg Monroe and the Cavs sending six players packing, including Isaiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade, and a No. 1 draft pick, while bringing in four players and a protected No. 2 draft pick.
The commentators will obviously touch on how the Cavs got younger, quicker and better defensively, and what their potential looks like against the East’s best teams like Boston and Toronto.
On Friday night, new additions Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. didn’t suit up as LeBron James held the fort down with 22 points, 19 assists and 12 rebounds, and Kyle Korver and Jeff Green combined for 54 points off the bench in their short-handed win at Atlanta.
We’ll have time to dissect and discuss what this new-look Cavs squad will look like down the homestretch. But today should not be that day. Today should belong to the man being honored and having his jersey raised to the rafters in Boston.
Paul Pierce’s Top 5 Truth Moments | Boston Celtics Legend
To celebrate Paul Pierce’s Boston Celtics jersey retirement, we showcase the top 5 Truth Moments from his career. We journey through how Pierce earned his nickname to incredible playoff moments to becoming a champion. Tell us your favorite Paul Pierce moments as a member of the Boston Celtics in the comments!
Kyrie Irving‘s favorite NBA player was Kobe Bryant, and through the lens of watching him battle against Paul Pierce, he learned to fully appreciate the man whose nickname was “The Truth.”
“I’d go home and I’d re-watch the highlights of Games 1 through 6 (of the NBA Finals),” Irving said on Friday. “Whatever game it was in LA, Pierce had that black leather knee brace on and he just put on an unbelievable show in front of his hometown crowd. And he just always rose to those occasions, just consistently wanting that shot, wanting that possession. I’ve been a fan for a long time. I’m a fan of a lot of greats, but his legacy will live on forever on Sunday, with his jersey retired with a lot of other great players that have played within the organization.”
Paul Pierce Full 2008 NBA Finals Highlights vs Lakers – 21.8 PPG, 6.3 APG, Finals MVP!
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When Pierce played his final NBA game, I wrote:
Paul Pierce played his final NBA game yesterday, retiring after 19 seasons. The 10-time All-Star and 2008 NBA champion called it a career after the Clippers 104-91 Game 7 loss to the Utah Jazz in the opening round of the playoffs.
It’s easy to look at numbers and say that Pierce’s career was incredible. With over 26,397 points, only 14 men in the history the league scored more than he did. But to simply define his career with metrics and analytics would be a disservice to how remarkable he truly was.
Let’s start at the beginning.
So many people get hyped up nowadays on player rankings and who is doing what on the AAU circuit, but had you been slobbering over the best ninth and tenth graders in the country back in the early ’90s, you wouldn’t have even heard the name Paul Pierce.
He was cut from the varsity squad at Inglewood High School as a freshman and sophomore. But those disappointments fueled a desire that could not be extinguished.
As a senior, he was named a prestigious McDonald’s All-American, but was really an afterthought. That 1995 McDonald’s game centered around the five top players in the prep ranks at the time – Stephon Marbury, Kevin Garnett, Ron Mercer, Vince Carter and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Sam Okey, Albert Wright, Derek Hood, Ryan Roberson and Kris Clack were starters in that high school All-Star showcase, while Pierce was relegated to the bench.
But had you watched, you were privy to a preview of the future. Pierce might not have been considered a can’t miss prospect walking into the game, but he took advantage of the stage to announce that he would be taking a backseat to no one down the road.
1995 All American High School Game Turns Into a Slam Dunk Contest! V. Carter, Garnett, Pierce…
Future NBA Stars puts on a show in 1995 McDonalds All American High School Basketball Game..
Garnett won the MVP award, but Pierce scorched for 28 points off the bench.
If you missed Jacque Vaughn pushing the pill for the Kansas Jayhawks with Pierce’s devastating skill set on the wing, you truly missed out on something special. Pierce could destroy you in transition, while isolated on the perimeter and within the confines of the post due to his delectable mid-range game and limitless offensive repertoire.
He had the size, quickness and strength that projected toward him having an impact later on in the NBA. But he wasn’t just a guy who could run and jump, Pierce’s skill set was deliciously “old school”. He moved fluidly, had a soft jumper and seemed to understand the flow of the game better than most.
If you just began watching him during the last few seasons, you missed the first step that was faster than a lizard’s tongue back in the day, along with his explosive leaping ability when attacking the basket. He could stick the three-ball, but what made him unstoppable was that mid-range jumper. He played both ends of the court as well, fighting for rebounds and blocking shots.
The thing I loved about his game at Kansas, in addition to his ability to thrive in both a fast-paced and slow-it-down possession attack, was his mastery of the fundamentals. The highlight dunks pleased the crowd, but my man’s footwork, hands and body control were supreme.
He left Kansas after toying with the college comp as a junior and quickly emerged as one of the best and most dynamic players in the Eastern Conference as a young player with the Boston Celtics. Alone in the gym, he tossed up thousands of jumpers, whispering, “Michael Olowokandi, Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Robert Traylor, Jason Williams, Larry Hughes, Dirk Nowitzki.”
Those were the names of those picked ahead of him in the 1998 NBA draft.
Paul Pierce through the years | ESPN
Take a look back at the career of Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce.
As a 21-year-old rookie playing for Rick Pitino, Pierce averaged 16.5 points and 6.4 rebounds for a team that finished 19-31 during the strike-shortened 1999 season.
By his second year in the league, he was averaging 19.5 points per game and offering the rabid Celtics fan base some hope that the franchise might one day be able to return to its glory years.
And, then, during a night out at the Buzz Club near South Station in 2000, he was nearly murdered, stabbed 11 times in the face, neck, and back. After undergoing lung surgery, Pierce miraculously returned to play in all 82 of Boston’s games while averaging 25.3 points.
His athleticism, as it relates to the NBA competition, was not off the charts in the same way that it had been in college, but to watch Pierce operate and know what you were seeing was beyond delightful.
He wasn’t the biggest, fastest and strongest small forward in the league, but he was unstoppable. No one could keep him from getting to his sweet spots, often hypnotizing the man guarding him with feints, jab steps, head fakes, spins, up-and-under’s and step-backs that literally took them through the entire wash cycle.
Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce reflects on his biggest NBA playoff moments | ESPN
His number now forever in the rafters in Boston, ‘The Truth’ Paul Pierce looks back on some of his biggest Celtics playoff moments.
And the man simply had that unquantifiable clutch gene. He was an utter destroyer.
In 2001, Shaq bestowed upon him the moniker that would forever follow him through the remainder of his NBA career.
After Pierce lit up the Lakers in March of 2001 to the tune of 42 points, while connecting on 13 of his 19 shots, Shaq pulled aside a reporter and offered up the following quote. “Take this down. My name is Shaquille O’Neal and Paul Pierce is the motherf****** truth. Quote me on that and don’t take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn’t know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is The Truth!”
My man was the king of the buzzer-beater and put sub-par teams on his back, carrying the Celtics back to respectability before the memorable 2008 championship run with Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
He gave us his Willis Reed moment in Game 1 of those Finals, leaving the court in a wheelchair after falling awkwardly on a teammate’s leg. He walked back onto the court to thunderous applause and scored 15 points in a decisive third quarter burst that swung the game in Boston’s favor.
In the 108-102 Game 2 victory, he gave the Lakers some serious work to the tune of 28 points. Despite the 103-98 loss in Game 5, his 38 points and eight assists were masterful. And in the series-clinching 131-92 blowout in Game 6, he dished out 10 assists en route to being named the Finals MVP.
After a series of two-year stints with the Nets, Wizards and Clippers respectively, Pierce has officially walked off into the sunset, leaving us with a first-ballot Hall of Fame career that should be cherished and appreciated for many years to come.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and nothing but The Truth, Paul Pierce was all of that.
And then some.
A Tribute to Paul Pierce
From Kobe Bryant to Kevin Garnett to Shaquille O’Neal, NBA legends and celebrities alike came together to say farewell to Paul Pierce. —————————————————————— Welcome to The Players’ Tribune, a new media platform that presents the voices of professional athletes, bringing fans closer to the games they love than ever before.
Today, this new conglomeration of talent in Cleveland should be an afterthought. Time will eventually tell us their story, not one game, especially their first together. The real story, the true appreciation, should be reserved for Paul Pierce.
