You Can't Handle The Truth: Paul Pierce Claims If That They Were The Same Age, He Would Have Kept LeBron From Winning 4 Rings

Boston Globe. Getty Images.

Ever since his retirement and transition into the media world where he's become a lot more visible, it feels like the current generation doesn't show nearly enough respect to Paul Pierce in terms of his status as an NBA legend. He'll say some shit that's an objective fact, and it leads to the internet trying to make it seem like Pierce wasn't actually one of them ones. That he's full of shit, talking out of his ass etc.

As a reminder, Pierce is a first ballot HOFer, a 10x All Star, 4x All NBA, Finals MVP, a member of the NBA's Top 75 Team, and is arguably one of the best SFs in the history of the league. His 26,397 career points have him just outside the top 20 all-time (21st) and right behind Tim Duncan (26,496). I'm sorry if this offends, but these are objective facts. 

So now that we have that established, I'd like to move on to the entire purpose of this blog, which was Pierce's claims today that had he and LeBron been the same age during their battles in the 2010s, that LeBron wouldn't have won those 2 rings in MIA and wouldn't have 4 to his name

While some may clown Pierce for such a take, here on planet Earth I'm not sure I heard a single lie

Let us not forget, during that time in the NBA, we routinely saw Pierce go toe to toe with LeBron. Remember their Game 7 in the 2008 playoffs? LeBron was unstoppable with 45. Pierce? Right there with him with 41

In 2010, it was Paul Pierce & Co that eliminated LeBron in 6 games in Round 2, with Pierce outperforming LeBron on his own floor in that pivotal Game 5. As we saw, losing that series is what ended LeBron's first stint as a Cav and caused him to form his own superteam with the Heat just so he could get past Pierce and the Celtics. They were his boogeyman, plain and simple.

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When it comes to the idea that Pierce would have been able to stop the Heat version of LeBron from winning his 2 rings there, that's also not that far-fetched either. Let us not forget, the 2012 series between BOS/MIA went to a Game 7, largely because the NBA did everything in their power to help the Heat make the Finals. That Wade foul on Rondo by clearly hitting him on his head while contesting a layup still makes me mad. At that point, Pierce was 34, Ray Allen was 36, and KG was 35, whereas LeBron was 27 and right in the middle of his NBA prime. Remember what happened in Game 5 of that series?

Given how competitive and close their series were despite Pierce being on the back 9 of his career, I don't find it a stretch at all to say if he were the same age as LeBron and also in his NBA prime, then things would have looked different. This isn't a bench player talking like a starter, this is one of the best players in NBA history who already had a proven track record of beating LeBron on multiple occasions. 

And while it's become sort of a trend to think Pierce is over the top and has an overinflated sense of who he was as a player, in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. He has no need to lie or make it seem like he was better than he was, his NBA career/resume is right up there with the greatest to ever do it. Again, that's fact, not opinion.

So just because you may not want to accept that, it doesn't make what Pierce said wrong. I mean, his name is The Truth for many reasons, and in this case, it's because that's what he's speaking.