There aren’t many NBA franchises that boast a legacy like the Boston Celtics. In terms of championships, their only competition is the Los Angeles Lakers. One of the many advantages of having a legacy team is that the youngsters get to have real conversations with the veterans who have navigated through the league for a successful career. However, despite playing for the Celtics and now being one of the legends, Paul Pierce recently unveiled on UNDISPUTED that he has never met Larry Bird, who is arguably the greatest player to ever represent Boston.
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Pierce said, “I’ve never met him. I saw Larry once, he came to the Garden, we were playing Indiana…he came in and we gave him a standing ovation.” Despite his admission, Skip Bayless couldn’t believe that even after spending 15 years with the franchise, Pierce never met Bird. Six years after Bird retired from the game as a player, the Celtics drafted the Truth in 1998. He stayed in Boston till 2013 and then moved to Brooklyn.
The 10x NBA All-Star unveiled the reason behind Bird avoiding his second home. He said that Larry Legend had a lot of issues with the former owners of the Celtics that made him stay away from the franchise.
After his retirement as a player, he took up a coaching job in Indiana, which Pierce believes was a strategic move from Bird. Despite that, there are some events for every franchise that the legends always show up for.
.@PaulPierce34 has never met Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird 😳👀@keyshawn & @RealSkipBayless are left in disbelief pic.twitter.com/St3V8326us
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 23, 2024
When asked if he didn’t show up in Boston even when the Celtics won the NBA Championship in 2008 or if they didn’t meet during the 75th Anniversary, Pierce said, “The 75th team Anniversary, he didn’t show up to that. I thought we’ll have an opportunity there, but no… He didn’t come to Boston [for 2008 championship].” Even though they never met, that doesn’t mean that Bird didn’t have respect for Pierce as a Celtic.
Larry Bird wanted Paul Pierce to finish his career in Boston
During a conversation with Boston.com in 2013, Bird talked about Pierce and his wish regarding The Truth. Despite never having an opportunity to shake hands as two of the greatest to ever wear the lucky green, Larry Legend was all praise for Pierce. He said, “He’s one of the better ones to ever come through there. He really is.” At the time of the interview, Pierce was on the last leg of his career, which is why Bird wanted him to bid farewell to the game as a Celtic.
He said, “I would have loved to see it. I got a lot of respect for Paul and what he has accomplished. But who says he’s not going to play another four years? It’s a tough situation.” Unfortunately, Pierce moved to Brooklyn in 2013. Even though he did play for another four years, he ended his career with the Los Angeles Clippers.
