“You Can’t Do This When You Up”: Paul Pierce Defends Derik Queen, Gives Clarification on Unwritten Rule of Basketball

Derik Queen recently went viral for breaking one of basketball’s biggest unwritten rules. The New Orleans Pelicans rookie decided to steal the ball as the Atlanta Hawks were dribbling out the clock in an already decided game. Not only that, but Queen dunked the ball emphatically just before time expired, prompting a heated exchange between him and the Hawks’ bench.

No one knows the consequences of these unwritten rules better than veterans who have played in the NBA for over a decade and have seen it all. Paul Pierce, a Hall of Famer, weighed in on the controversy created by Queen, responding to former star Danny Green’s take on the ordeal on the No Fouls Given podcast.

Usually, rookies in the NBA are not entirely familiar with the league’s unwritten rules. With this in mind, some were forgiving of Queen for breaking them. However, Green and Pierce defended Queen entirely, saying that people are getting the rules mixed up.

“That’s if you’re winning,” Green professed on No Fouls Given.

Green didn’t see anything wrong with what Queen did. He defended the rookie, teaching the audience that the unwritten rule is for teams that score when they’re already winning. For teams on the losing end, Green says that they should be allowed to play until the final horn. He was actually surprised that the Hawks got upset with Queen at all. 

“They actually got in his face to talk about it?” he questioned. “What is he supposed to do? He’s supposed to compete. Compete until the horn goes off.”

It was an excellent point. After all, Queen is a rookie in the NBA, and he’s going to want to accumulate all of the stats he can get. In the box score, that final play will go down as a steal and two points. It may not seem like much now, but it adds up by the end of the season. 

That’s when Pierce jumped in to clarify the unwritten rule.  “You can’t do this when you’re up. That would’ve been the craziest play I’ve ever seen if they were up,” the former Boston Celtics man stated.

Pierce actually got a kick out of the clip and was laughing a lot. But he also didn’t see anything wrong with what Queen did. He was too busy imagining how wild it would have been if the rookie pulled the same move while his team was already winning.

So, there you have it. According to some NBA veterans, Queen didn’t break any unwritten rules. The Hawks may have been upset, but some believe that a losing team should never give up in a game, even when the deficit is insurmountable.