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Paul 'The Truth' Pierce is one of the greatest players to ever don a Boston Celtics' jersey. Through 15 years of playing at the Garden for one of the biggest fanbases in the league, Pierce represented the Celtics in the most blameless manner possible - till the age of 35.
Pierce's game aged quite well. He was never over-reliant on his athleticism, using his basketball IQ and jump shooting skill to get all the crucial buckets that the Celtics needed whenever he was able to. Through the length of his career, he was an above-average defender and was beaten out to All-Defensive teams because of the stature of purely defensive players during his prime years.
His list of honors ranks right up there with many top-50 players in the history of basketball. He was a 10-time All-Star. He was selected to 4 All-NBA teams. He has a championship during which he was crowned Finals MVP for his two-way play - people forget that his defense forced Kobe Bryant to miss 9 straight shots in game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
However, he is never recognized as a top 50 player. Here, we take a look at the top 5 reasons why Pierce's legacy is much greater than is portrayed by new fans of the game, and he is really underrated:
#5 He never had postseason success in the first 9 years of his career
Pierce's initial years as a Celtic involved a lot of playoff disappointment. Since the retirements of Kevin McHale, Larry Bird and Robert Parish, the Celtics had never been in the contention for a title. Teams like the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets had way more postseason success than Pierce's Celtics.
It was not due to any shortcoming in Pierce's skill set. Pierce was as complete a player as ever seen at the small forward position during the late 90s and the early noughties. But the rest of the Celtics was beyond lackluster, and they were never in contention for a conference title. They lost to the New Jersey Nets in the Conference Finals in Pierce's 4th season (2001-02).
#4 When he did win the title, it was with an all-time great team
The Boston Celtics signed Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett through blockbuster trade deals that belied belief at the time - Garnett was the subject of a 7-players-for-1 trade that had the most players switching sides in exchange for one player (the Chris Paul trade has since emulated this record).
The NBA had never seen three two-way superstars in their prime align their basketball goals in this way, and thus, the eventual championship that the Celtics won that season was attributed more to overall star power than to a single player's play. All 3 players sacrificed their scoring touches in order to help the team win games, and it paid off handsomely for the team - allowing the 3 Hall of Famers to get a taste of the championship champagne.
#3 He has never been a scoring title/MVP/DPOY contender
One of the primary filters a number of people apply for true superstardom in the NBA is that the said player should be a scoring title contender, or an MVP contender, or a DPOY contender. Paul Pierce does not check any of these three boxes.
He was a deadly scorer at his peak, netting 5 seasons with scoring averages over 25 points per game and 12 seasons with 19 points or more. But due to the presence of scoring powerhouses like Shaq, Kobe, Iverson, LeBron, Carmelo and KD through various phases of his career, Pierce was never in contention for the scoring title.
He wasn't a center or a point guard and did not run his team's offense or defense at any point, despite often being their best player on both ends. This hampered his way to MVP or DPOY honours - combined with the Celtics' non-historic regular season record during his years there.
#2 He made bad career choices after his run with the Celtics
With Boston Celtics' GM Danny Ainge deciding to build the roster back up from scratch following the 2012-13 season, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in what was probably the best trade of the century.
Pierce's time at Brooklyn did not bring much postseason success, understandably because the foursome of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Pierce and Garnett was past its prime and could not compete with the Miami Heat Big 3. He subsequently moved to a young Washington Wizards team, where he should have retired as a veteran leader.
But he decided to try and win one more ring, prompting a signing with the Los Angeles Clippers with a 3-year, $10-million contract. He was only available for 2 of those years, and the last images of Pierce in the league are those of a thoroughly outmatched player in need of retirement - ultimately altering his enduring image.
#1 He is a below-par basketball analyst
The biggest reason why Redditors make fun of Paul Pierce, and he is never taken seriously is because of his propensity for hot takes as an analyst for ESPN. People perceive him to be salty over the fact that LeBron James' rise overshadowed the second half of his career - when he really is trying to stand up for himself in positions that no one would take.
Most recently, Pierce commented that he thought the Philadelphia 76ers would beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a playoff series this very year if the seedings fell in place. His opinion was met with understandable disbelief by the likes of Chauncey Billups and Tracy McGrady - who are co-analysts with him on The Jump.
Despite the fact that there are genuine basketball reasons why the 76ers could pose a tough challenge to the Cavs this postseason, any LeBron James-led side is still the hot favourite to make another appearance in the NBA Finals as long as he is in the Eastern Conference - Pierce's comments came across as another dig at LeBron.
Guess the Lakers players!
