Every professional athlete has some sort of competitive spirit. However, everyone pales in comparison to Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers legend never took an opportunity to step on the basketball court for granted. It didn’t matter if the stakes were an NBA championship or a mere Nike commercial.
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Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce faced off against Bryant on the biggest of stages. The two went toe-to-toe in the NBA Finals on two separate occasions in 2008 and 2009. However, the two held each other in quite high regard.
Their connection wasn’t solely tied to the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. They were also both Nike athletes. Their affiliation with the company led to their involvement in Nike’s ‘The Second Coming’ campaign.
This campaign took place in 2007. The advertisement consisted of Bryant, Pierce, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tony Parker, Jermaine O’Neal, Rasheed Wallace, and Shawn Marion.
The commercial itself featured these 10 players active in an indoor pickup game. It may have appeared that they were competitive, but all of their moves were choreographed. The director put Pierce to score on Bryant. However, that didn’t go as Pierce thought.
“You know, it’s a commercial. Make a couple moves, take the shot. He keeps knocking the ball out. I’m like, ‘Dog, we got to shoot the shot.’ He didn’t want me to get the shot off in the commercial,” Pierce said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break.
That scene should’ve been completed in a couple of takes. Instead, Bryant couldn’t fathom allowing Pierce to score easily on him even if it was for a commercial. As a result, the Hall of Fame forward had to get into game mode.
“Now I’ve got to go full like him. He wants me to make a real move. That was just him, though, just so competitive,” Pierce proclaimed.
The memory now lives as one of his fondest experiences with his dear rival and friend. The two would take that exchange and build upon it every time they faced off in the NBA. Whenever those two faced each other on the court, fans knew they were in for quite a show.
