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Paul Pierce was blasted by many on social media when he reiterated his point that he was better than Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Pierce, in an interview a few weeks ago, claimed that he could have had more championships had he played with better teammates.
The former Boston Celtics superstar has since been relentlessly trolled for his comments. Pierce, never one to back down, sent this message to his critics:
“I’m still better at hoop than 99.9 percent of people on twitter”
Paul Pierce was again at the center of a minor social media storm when he claimed on the Dan LeBatard Show:
“Put Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal] on my team, put LeBron [James] and [Chris] Bosh with me! I’m not going to win one? You don’t think? Me, LeBron and Bosh. We’re not gonna win one? We’re not gonna win a couple?
“Who’s the better 3-point shooter? Is he [Wade] a better scorer? He averaged more points than me [in my] career. I can shoot the three, mid-range [and] I can post up. I can get to the [free throw] line. … Just break it down!”
“The Truth” capped it off with passionate words about winning championships:
“My skills went unappreciated because I didn’t get to play with a lot of players. And then I got to play with KG [Kevin Garnett] and Ray [Allen] way past their prime. If four years earlier, you put me, Ray and KG together, you think we ain’t walking away with three chips?”
Dwyane Wade is a three-time champ in the NBA. He won his first title in 2006 alongside Shaquille O’Neal and a few more veterans, including Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton.
Wade’s next two titles came when LeBron James took his talents to South Beach. Chris Bosh joined and made the team one of the most highly touted in NBA history. Together, they reached four NBA Finals and won back-to-back titles (2012 and 2013).
As good as those teams were, many still thought they severely underachieved. They suffered an embarrassing loss to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and to the San Antonio Spurs’ “Beautiful Game” in 2014.
Paul Pierce won his lone championship with the Boston Celtics’ renowned Big Three
While Dwyane Wade has three titles, Paul Pierce ultimately won one with the 2008 Boston Celtics. The Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to form their version of a somewhat aging but still great Big Three.
The Celtics beat Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers in 2008 with Pierce winning NBA Finals MVP. However, a rematch with the Lakers in 2010 didn’t go the Celtics’ way.
Paul Pierce can also argue that the “Heatles” were a younger trio than Boston’s three-man group. Boston’s aging superstars after 2010 just couldn’t keep up with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
For good measure, Allen even left the Celtics in 2012 to join the Heat. His three-pointer against the Spurs in Game 6 of the NBA Finals may have given Miami its second championship.
While Dwayne Wade hasn’t responded to Paul Pierce’s claims, many have criticized “The Truth.” Don’t expect Pierce to back down anytime soon, though.
