“Paul Pierce is a big-time LeBron James hater”: How the Lakers star and Celtics legend have fared in their rivalry over the years

Paul Pierce continues to display his pettiness with biased takes on LeBron James, even after all these years of retirement.

Paul Pierce and LeBron James had one of the fiercest on-court rivalries that the League has ever witnessed. However, it seems like Paul Pierce still hasn’t let go of his feelings towards LeBron. After capping off a lengthy 19-year career, Pierce took up a job as an analyst with ESPN.

It is at his new job where he has flourished as a Skip Bayless-esque LeBron hater. However, unlike Skip, Pierce’s hatred of Lebron began on the court. James entered the league as an elite prospect and received praise from the media in his rookie season with the Cavs. This frustrated Paul Pierce enough for him to make it his mission to stop LeBron.

The two forwards got into each other’s faces several times and were often handed technicals for their behavior. To make matters worse, ‘The Truth’ routinely stared down the Cavs bench and even spit at them once. Naturally, this did not sit well with LeBron and he made his feelings know through his play.

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Why does Pierce hate LeBron so much?

It is no secret that Pierce does not have an objective view of Bron’s career. The first clear sign of this hatred was when Pierce shoved LeBron in a preseason game prior to the 2013-14 season.  Despite remaining irrelevant to Bron for the rest of his career he still managed to display his displeasure. Another sign was that Pierce did not allow any of his teammates to wear LeBron’s signature shoes.

On retiring and taking up a media role with ESPN, Pierce couldn’t stop the smear campaign. He claimed that James is not a top ten NBA player of all-time among other ridiculous claims. He also believes that he scared Bron into moving to Miami. His unhealthy obsession with LeBron has led to him being on the receiving end of trolling from NBA superfans.

LeBron addressed their relationship as being a rivalry and something that pushed him to be a better player. Hopefully, Pierce will burry the invisible hatchet that he has clung on to for so long.

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