Paul Pierce may not be the most beloved personality off the NBA court, but he was an absolute beast on it. The Boston Celtics legend went against the best talents in the NBA and often left them humiliated. He recently took to Twitter to share one such moment with NBA superstar – LeBron James. When LeBron was with the Cleveland Cavaliers during his early days, Paul Pierce had put him on a poster.
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The Celtics player re-posted the tweet by a fan who quoted,
“@paulpierce34 [Paul Pierce] dunking on LeBron and Anderson Varejao. The truth deserves y’all’s respect”
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) October 28, 2023
‘The Truth’ has recently gained a lot of negative publicity for his antics that got him fired from ESPN. He also received flak for making bold statements about his own greatness and comparing himself to players like Dwayne Wade. Despite his occasional nonsense, Pierce remains one of the defining players of the 2000s.
The resume speaks for itself. A member of the 75th NBA anniversary team, Pierce won the NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and was adjudged the Finals MVP for his performance. Playing against the Los Angeles Lakers, he averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in six games to claim the honor.
Paul Pierce’s rivalry against LeBron James
The rivalry between LeBron James and Paul Pierce spanned across the late 2000s and the early 2010s. It was one of the most entertaining and anticipated matchups of the era. However, the competition did not stem from any incident but from the superstars facing each other multiple times in the playoffs.
The Celtics, with the trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, defeated a young LeBron in the 2008 and 2010 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. In 2008, ‘The Truth’ averaged 19.4 points per game to beat the Cavaliers in a hard-fought series that went down to seven games.
While in 2010, Pierce averaged 13.5 points to defeat the Cavs in six games. The Cleveland superstar was a lone warrior for his team, averaging 26.7 and 26.8 in both years respectively.
However, James would get his revenge in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals while playing for the Miami Heat. With a much better roster to compete against the Celtics trio, the four-time champion had a historic series averaging an unprecedented 33.6 points and 11 rebounds per game.
His Game 6 performance in a do-or-die situation, scoring 45 points, led the Heat’s comeback from 3-2 down to win the series in seven games.
Though the competition on the court was fierce, there were reports about a serious beef between the two players. According to Antoine Walker, Pierce was not happy about the media’s narrative of LeBron being a lot better than him.
He always thought of himself in the same conversation as the NBA superstar. However, in 2014, Pierce cleared the air by saying that there is no dislike between the two. Their relationship is solely based on their battles on the court.
