Paul Pierce put together a pretty impressive resume during his 19 seasons in the NBA with 10 All-Star game selections, four All-NBA nods and a world championship and Finals MVP award in 2008.
He was the face of the Boston Celtics during his 15 seasons there, and along with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, he helped restore the proud franchise back to greatness in the late 2000s after a two-decade championship drought.
Pierce was known by his nickname “the truth,” and Pierce revealed on Fox Sports 1’s “Speak” that Shaquille O’Neal gave him that nickname after what he claimed was a 40-plus-point performance.
.@paulpierce34 shares with us how he got his nickname “The Truth.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9Iv0ugzWiD
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) September 26, 2024
Pierce, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward, was difficult to guard because of his size and girth, and he seemed equally adept at taking the ball to the hoop as he was launching perimeter shots.
In his prime, he averaged in the area of 25 points a game, and in his first nine seasons, he did the hard work of trying to carry a mediocre and sometimes bad Celtics team.
In 2007, Garnett and Allen arrived, and Boston suddenly became dominant again and won it all, and they came very close to a second title in 2010.
Pierce was also known as a crunch-time performer, and he was deadly in such situations from the free throw line extended.
In his last four seasons, he closed out his career with the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers, and the trade that sent him to Brooklyn helped establish the foundation for Boston’s current championship-winning squad.
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