Paul Pierce had one of the deepest bags in the league back in the day as far as skills were concerned. Often regarded as one of the greatest scorers of the game, Pierce was a nightmare for defenders because of his savvy moves. One of his greatest strengths on the court was his footwork and that helped him develop an inside pivot as part of his game. During a recent appearance on the Forgotten Seasons podcast, Pierce talked about the original inspiration behind the move and how he managed to master it.
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The Celtics legend said that from the very beginning of his career, he was on the lookout for more moves to add to his arsenal. Pierce told the co-hosts of the show that players are often taught to pivot to the opposite of their dominant side. Since this was like an unwritten rule, every other athlete followed that blueprint in their game. Pierce understood that pivoting to the other side is predictable and is also a waste of time, so he thought he would not go with the traditional formula.
The 46-year-old said, “I was a pretty strong left-handed driver and I finished at the basket left a lot and I was like…instead of wasting motion trying to pivot to the right, jab, and go left, I started working on my pivot on my right leg.” It worked very well for the Celtics star as the move threw off defenders, who never prepared for such an abnormal position.
Over a period of time, he went on to master it and it ended up becoming his signature move. On the episode, Pierce revealed that the inspiration for that came from Kiki VanDeWeghe. Pierce added, “I don’t think I’ve ever told him this…So, Kiki VanDeWeghe would hold a mini camp every summer in Los Angeles and then Vegas, and I would go to them every summer.” Pierce said that Vandeweghe was a huge influence on him.
Kiki VanDeWeghe’s post-retirement career
Vandeweghe played for 13 seasons in the league and made two All-Star appearances. However, his second tenure in the league after retiring as a player proved to be an even bigger success. In 2021, he took up a league advisory role after serving as the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations for eight years.
After taking up the new role, he said, “It has been a privilege to lead NBA Basketball Operations. I am proud of our staff and what we accomplished together, including the fundamental improvements to the game and unprecedented business success of our league.” He is credited for modernizing the basketball operations and has been at the forefront of the NBA’s success in recent years.
