For a man nicknamed “The Truth,” Paul Pierce has been spewing a lot of nonsense recently. This isn’t uncharacteristic for the Celtics legend, as he’s had one notorious headline after another since he became an analyst for ESPN in 2017. Ironically, his most infamous headline, the one which led to his firing from the “Big Mouse” in 2021, was one that had nothing to do with what he said, but rather did. Oh, Paul.  

On a recent episode of his Mind the Game podcast, LeBron James praised guest and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, calling him the “most equipped” scorer of all time. A fairly apt, maybe even banal, bit of praise, as Kevin Durant’s abilities and carousel of moves on the court are well-documented. Yet, it didn’t take too long for The Truth to come on FS1’s Speak and respond to this otherwise unremarkable comment, making things about himself by saying that he feels he should “be in the conversation” for that title. Uhm, what?       

Paul Pierce deserves to be on anybody’s “Top 10 all-time small forwards” list. The man was the critical piece in giving Doc Rivers his sole championship in 2008 (one more than he deserves, in my humble opinion). He was, no doubt, a well-rounded offensive threat during the mid-2000s. But he wasn’t even the second-best scoring small forward in the NBA during his prime. That goes to LeBron. One could argue that Tracy McGrady was also more offensively equipped compared to Paul Pierce, especially during that era. And this is just small forwards. When bringing in overall versatile players during his era, both Kobe and Dirk come to mind far ahead of Pierce. 

Belief to the point of delusion seems to be a trend for The Truth, because this isn’t the first time he’s said something inflammatory to gas up his legacy. Six years ago, he confidently asserted that he was a better player than two-time champion Dwayne Wade, saying that he would also have won more championships if he’d had Shaq and LeBron by his side. Once again, what? Good sir, you had Kevin Garnett and Jesus Shuttlesworth as your teammates, and a spry Rajon Rondo as well as a skinny(er) Kendrick Perkins to boot. But forget championships, as that’s a team accolade. Individually, Pierce has nowhere near the hardware of Wade. From more All-NBA selections to Scoring Championships, to Defensive Team selections, Wade’s career is far more well-rounded than that of the Celtics legend. 

Pierce has also had a longtime, one-way rivalry with LeBron. He even came on FS1 to say how he feels “truly responsible for taking LeBron to that next level,” saying how their matchup against the Heat in 2012 was the catalyst in taking LeBron to that next level of greatness. Now, that is obviously ridiculous, however—and I say this as a LeBron fan—there may be a hint of “truth” (pun intended) to this. Not saying LeBron wasn’t already climbing the echelons of basketball greatness before this season, but this was the season after his diabolically terrible finals performance against Dirk and the Mavs the year prior. This was a do-or-die moment for the Miami Heat and especially for LeBron. And that Game 6 performance against the Celtics is still considered The King’s finest hour for many. Now, was that all Pierce’s doing? Of course not, but being who he is, he has to take the credit. 

Maybe it’s time The Truth puts the mic to rest for a while. Then again, these soundbites make for great content, so maybe we can let him go for a bit longer. Be sure to check out the Tiktok page for the video version of this article!