Paul Pierce is the other No. 34 in Boston sports. On Monday, the Boston Celtics great signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the green.
In many ways, Paul Pierce has come to define what it means to bleed green. The Boston Celtics announced Monday that the 10-time NBA All-star signed a one-day contract so he could retire as a member of the organization where he spent most of his career.
In fact, he spent 15 years in Boston. Many of those years were spent playing on a mediocre team that were at times rebuilding. He did, however, help the team capture their 17th NBA World Championship in 2008. That same team came just a few minutes from winning again in 2010.
Ironically, it was the trade of Paul Pierce, along with Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, that led to the Celtics current treasure of assets.
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The deal has so far led to the lottery selections of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Both players have the opportunity to hopefully begin careers similar to that of Pierce, who was selected with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.
Just second in career points to John Havlicek, Paul Pierce will ultimately have his No. 34 retired.
"“We’re honored that Paul has chosen to retire as a Celtic. He is among the very best Celtics – a champion on and off the court,” Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said in a release. “We congratulate Paul on a Hall of Fame career, and look forward to seeing his number raised to the rafters of TD Garden.”"
As a fan who grew up watching Paul Piece – and in many ways grew up with him – there were so many memorable moments he has left me with. In this article, I will share three games that instantly come to mind.
Game 3- 2002 Eastern Conference Finals vs. New Jersey Nets
Before there was a Big 3 part II, there was the tandem of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. The duo led the Boston Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals against Jason Kidd and the then-New Jersey Nets.
With the series tied 1-1, Pierce and the Celtics orchestrated the biggest comeback in franchise history.
I will always remember this game because I had a gut feeling the team would find a way to pull it out – even down as many as 26 points in the game.
Kidd and the Nets simply dominated the first three quarters of the game. The Celtics just look lethargic in the first half and the little bit of life they had peeked through towards the end of the third quarter.
Led by Pierce, Boston begin to chip away at a 74-53 fourth quarter lead by the Nets. No. 34 scored 19 of his game-high 28 points down the stretch to jolt his team past New Jersey, 94-90.
The historic fourth-quarter comeback was capped off by Pierce jumping on the scorer’s table pumping his fist. The Celtics went on to lose the series, but that one game put Paul Pierce on the NBA map as a clutch performer.
Game 7- 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have owned the Boston Celtics recently, but it wasn’t always that way.
Back in 2008, the Celtics had an answer for King James. That answer went by the nickname of “The Truth” and he was on his game in the Game 7 showdown against Cleveland.
Pierce went head to head with James in this game. He scored 41 points to LeBron’s 45, but he had the last laugh in the battle of NBA superstars as the Celtics went on to advance to the 2008 NBA finals.
Following this year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 7 victory over the Washington Wizards, Isaiah Thomas said he looked back at the classic matchup for motivation.
"“All night, last night and day, I watched 2008 Paul Pierce versus LeBron and how special that game was,” Thomas said back in May, via Boston.com. “Two superstars going at it, guarding each other. It was a historic game, so I definitely did my studying, and I knew it was going to be a big time game tonight.”"
Pierce was outmatched by LeBron James physically and athletically, but he always found a way to hold his own against the best player in the world.
Game 1 – 2008 NBA Finals vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The Boston Celtics may not have won the 2008 NBA Finals if it wasn’t for a gutsy Game 1 performance by Paul Pierce.
The captain went down with what looked like a nasty knee injury early in the game. He left in a wheelchair and things looked very bleak for the Celtics and their home crowd.
But, in a showmanship of toughness, Pierce made a triumphant return to the game. With the crowd electrified, Pierce scored 11 of his 22 points, including back-to-back 3’s to help the Celtics pull away from Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
Boston went on to win the series and Pierce earned Finals MVP. During that particular playoff run, he really showed how dedicated he was to bring an NBA championship to the city of Boston.
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The three games I highlighted in this article were just three of many clutch performances by the product out of Kansas. What these games encompassed, was a man born to compete and a man who never backed down from a big moment.
Those qualities are what we will remember most about Paul Pierce.