Paul Pierce will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 11 in Springfield, Massachusetts. On this occasion, we look back on the incredible career of “The Truth” without which the Boston Celtics would not be the franchise it is today.
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What is left in memory of the great players of the past decades that we have only partially or never seen live in action? your stats? Definitely. your achievements? As well. Post-career achievements? To share. Some players are less satisfied with this “superficial” view than others. Paul Pierce is one of those candidates who has always suffered from it.
When you think of the name Paul Pierce, you probably immediately think of the notorious wheelchair photo or the media missteps of the recent past. Dizzying comparisons to Dwyane Wade or meaningless rants against LeBron James have severely damaged the image of “The Truth” in recent years. But the incomparable player Pierce should not be forgotten.
Paul Pierce: The new face of the Boston Celtics
Pierce came to the league in an era when the reputation of the legendary Boston Celtics was severely damaged. The fat 80s around Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were over, the 1996/97 season with 15 wins was the low point of the franchise. The organization was desperately looking for the next “Big Thing”.
Antoine Walker was talented, but lacked that certain something. So it was not until 1998 and until the 10th pick of the draft at that time that David Stern read his famous words that would shape the future of the franchise for years to come: “With the 10th pick of the 1998 NBA draft the Boston Celtics select Paul Pierce, from the University of Kansas”.
Arrived in Boston, the swingman unwound one strong season after the other. Already in his third season he averaged over 25 points and gave a pale Celtics team a new look with his fighting spirit and mentality.
In 2002, he led Boston to the playoffs for the first time in seven years (the longest losing streak in franchise history) in a manner reminiscent of LeBron’s 2007 Finals run with the Cavs. Pierce was the linchpin of a team whose third-best scorer was Rodney Rogers with an average of 10.7 points. Nonetheless, this squad made it to the East Finals, where the New Jersey Nets were too strong.
Two more playoff appearances followed in a row. 2002-03 with a team that finished only 24th offensively and 8th defensively in the regular season and still forced Indiana into six games in the second round – largely because of Pierce.
Paul Pierce: One of the clutchest players of all time
As soon as spring came and the playoffs came around, Pierce could play to his great strength. Though he was never the tallest, strongest, fastest, or most technical player, he was able to create his throw anytime, anywhere.
Pierce could tell his defense attorney exactly what he was going to do next, then do exactly that and still hit the throw. And with an uncanny regularity – especially in important situations.
Two examples: Loud Stathead Only three players hit more clutch shots than Pierce from 1996 to 2017. Their names: Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. In terms of pure buzzer beaters to win this period, he is tied with Kobe (10).
Paul Pierce made his teammates better
Pierce also knew how to make his teammates better and bad teams into serious contenders. This circumstance also accompanied him on his other stations in Brooklyn and Washington and was a blessing and a curse for him at the same time.
Pierce was an absolute monster by sheer stats. To put that in context, he scored more points than Jerry West, Charles Barkley, and Larry Bird, hit more three-pointers than Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, and Dirk Nowitzki, had a better Player Efficiency rating than Kevin McHale, Bob Cousy, and Steve Nash and a better true shooting percentage than Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Julius Erving.
However, due to the successes and failures of his teams, he never got the recognition he deserved. He was an All-Star ten times, but was not allowed to compete once. He only made it into the top 10 in MVP voting once in his career, which seems almost ridiculous considering his numbers. From 2001 to 2007, Pierce averaged 24.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals.
Paul Pierce: His influence cannot be measured in statistics
His true impact on the game wasn’t found in stats books anyway. Pierce wasn’t the type to always spin nice numbers with good odds. He fought hard for his victories and hurt the opponent in the process. He had the ability to take over the game at any moment – whether it was a February lunchtime or a hard-fought playoff game.
But it was never enough for Pierce in his early years in Boston for the really big hit. After the initial deep playoff runs, several first-round defeats followed, then the Celtics put down a disastrous record of 57-107 between 2005 and 2007, yet Pierce never called for a trade, which earned him great sympathy among the fans.
There were phases in which he had rows with teammates and coaches and publicly expressed his anger (“I’m the classic case of a good player in a bad team and it gets on my nerves”, Boston Globe, 2007), but he always stayed true to his heart club. And finally he was rewarded for it.