‘NBA players are afraid of LeBron James’: Paul Pierce frustrated with player treatment of Lakers star

Samir Mehdi | 26/09/2020
Paul Pierce on LeBron James

Paul Pierce says that NBA players in the league today do not want to face off against LeBron James, while also claiming he wasn’t afraid of the Lakers star.

Paul Pierce is slowly becoming well known around the NBA analyst world, as a man with some very strange opinions. Last year, he very famously said he had a better NBA career than 3x Champion Dwyane Wade and now this.

It’s becoming clearer with each ‘Pierce take’ that he loves to bring himself up while trying to smear another NBA legend’s name.

Also read: LeBron James: Paul Pierce explains how Lakers star get into his all time top 5 list

While on ESPN with Chauncey Billups and Jalen Rose, Pierce had a very interesting take on LeBron James

NBA players in this era are way too scared of LeBron, according to Paul Pierce

When discussing the Lakers and Nuggets series, Paul Pierce went on a rant, bashing current players on the way they guard LeBron James.

Pierce exclaimed, “Players of today are scared of LeBron! These guys today, he strikes fear in these guys.” He continued on with, “My era’s out of the league, we weren’t afraid of LeBron.”

Pierce was calling out all NBA players for playing the Lakers star on his past achievements and not really taking the challenge to him. In his view, if LeBron needs to be toppled off the pedestal, players need to start treating him just like another NBA player.

This take came right after Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals where the Lakers defeated the Nuggets 114-108.

Is there any validity to Paul Pierce’s statements?

LeBron James is a top 2 player of all time. There is bound to be a certain level of fear when playing the King himself.

However, LeBron James has been averaging a dominant 27, 7, and 7 for over 15 years now. Paul Pierce and his crew have played against the peak version of LeBron James and only after Paul Pierce acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, was he able to beat LeBron.

However, when facing off against James when he was on the Miami Heat, there is no chance the Boston Celtics did not fear LeBron’s Heat to a certain extent.

Post Edited By: Utkarsh Bhatla
LeBron James paul pierce

About the author

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Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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