Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett often have some amazing discussions on Garnett’s podcast, KG Certified. But more often than not, one of their takes or perspectives does end up sending ripples across the internet, something that was no different when Paul Pierce outrightly claimed he was faster than Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea, leading Vea to call out The Truth immediately.
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Vita Vea plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. He often plays the nose tackle for the team and weighs 347 lbs. Though a bit heavy for being a defensive tackle, Tony Cavallo brought up how fast he is and the problems he’s going to create in the NFL soon.
Cavallo also went on to say that Vita Vea, despite his large weight, could outrun anyone in the room. While Kevin Garnett did not doubt that for a second, this statement did not sit well with Paul Pierce.
Paul Pierce immediately interrupted Cavallo when he said, “Nah, he don’t run faster than me right now. I’ve been working out.” While Cavallo may not have been able to say it outrightly, Garnett surely did not hold back his thoughts.
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KG, while showing love to his former teammate, sided with Cavallo and backed up Vita Vea’s athleticism and agility on NFL grounds. Pierce’s statement even garnered a response from the Buccaneer’s defensive tackle, challenging The Truth with $100,000 on the line to prove him wrong.
“@paulpierce I got 100k you ain’t gone beat me.”
Pierce causes a stir after his comments on Vita Vea pic.twitter.com/bnOkwFkMGH
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) January 22, 2024
Former NBA stars like Carlos Boozer and Nate Robinson too chimed in on Pierce’s claim. Robinson dropped two comments in descending order regarding his former teammate.
“He’s not running a 5.1.”
“P square needs to stop the cap , let’s see Paul put on football equipment and line up vs a online men and try to get the QB he won’t do it one time.”
While Robinson may have called out Pierce as well, Carlos Boozer just wanted to witness this happening.
“I’m tuning in P.”
Paul Pierce may have the upper hand when it comes to some of his basketball takes but his statement on Vita Vea is clearly far from ‘The Truth.’ Vea is an excellent defensive stopper for the Buccaneers. He uses his frame and weight to his advantage, manhandling opposing players while on the grass.
Vita Vea tosses an injured Ragnow aside like a rag doll, and on his Knees the Lions Center HOLDS ON TO VV for dear life lol… otherwise Vita probably stuffs the RB and stops the Lions on 4th
& Broadcast team lauds Ragnow?
Naw lol nope, noWe’re watching a different play then pic.twitter.com/nOIUcCfR3J
— (@ZacOnTheMic) January 21, 2024
Even during his NFL draft combine, Vita Vea had many impressed with his physical prowess, only to get overshadowed by bigger names then.
Throwback to Vita Vea’s combine bench press
: NFL pic.twitter.com/g0tHrC1Jvj
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 18, 2024
So, if this matchup does ever happen, Pierce will be likely to see his confidence shatter before his very eyes.
Paul Pierce gets hit with an open challenge
Paul Pierce was not lying when he said that he had been working out lately. The Truth was spotted at multiple training camps for the Boston Celtics before the 2023-24 NBA season, practicing with the current team. No wonder why he was so confident that he could outrun Vita Vea.
Truth and Tatum have been in the lab together.@paulpierce34 and @aa000G9 want to see Tatum take the next step in his development this upcoming season.
Watch all episodes of KG Certified and Ticket and The Truth on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/A4uHElpi6V
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) September 15, 2023
While this may have been far-fetched, a few weeks ago Paul Pierce claimed he could still make it in the NBA as a spot-up shooter for any team in the league. Pierce said he would go 6-10 from beyond the arc and would prove himself right if he got a 10-day contract.
Kevin Garnett: “Ten 3’s, how many are you hitting, P?”
Paul Pierce: “Ten 3’s in the league right now?”
KG: “Corner 3’s… Two of them wide open, a couple with a hand in your face.”
Pierce: “I’d make like 6 of those.”
(via @shobasketball)pic.twitter.com/w51dRbi7Q4
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 20, 2023
Whether he could make it in the NBA today at 46 years of age or not, that’s for you to speculate. Meanwhile, hope that the Celtics legend keeps giving the internet such statements that end up amusing the larger population.