Paul Anthony Pierce is a retired American professional basketball player born in Oakland, California on 13th October 1977. This former NBA Champion played the small forward or shooting guard position with the jersey number 34. This 6 feet 7 inches player is known throughout the world as part of the “Big Three” that lead Boston Celtics to win the 2008 NBA championship.
Pierce attended Inglewood High School in California and was a star in basketball during the junior and senior years. He took part in the 1995 McDonald’s All-American Game as well as the game’s Slam Dunk contest.
Pierce played for three seasons in the University of Kansas and had an average of 6.3 rebounds and 16.4 points per game. He became the most valuable player in 1997 and 1998 in the Big 12 Conference tournament. At the completion of the junior year, he was chosen in the first round with the tenth overall pick by the Boston Celtics.
| Born | 13 Oct 1977 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Nickname | The Truth |
| Team History | |
Los Angeles Clippers
|
2015 - 2017 |
Washington Wizards
|
2014 - 2015 |
Nets
|
2013 - 2014 |
Boston Celtics
|
1998 - 2013 |
After the debut in NBA, Pierce’s capability to play defense, rebound and score led to his appearance as a top player in the Eastern Conference. In the game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Pierce scored 19 of the total 28 points during the fourth quarter and his team became victorious.
Pierce has performed at his best level against the best individual competition like Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James. On 15th February 2006, he played against Cleveland Cavaliers and scored a career high 50 points.
During the 2005-06 NBA Season, amongst the top 30 players in the league, Pierce scored the highest points per shot average. On 7th March 2006, against the Washington Wizards, Pierce scored seven points in overtime on a buzzer beater. On 8th March 2006, the Celtics defeated Philadelphia due to two late-game improbable shots by Pierce.
He has scored triple-doubles six times in his career. Between 4th February and 12th March, Pierce was associated with 14 games and in 13 of these he scored minimum 30 points. Pierce is the first Celtics player after Larry Bird to achieve 2000 points in one season.
During the 2006-07 Season, he was pestered by injuries and could participate in only 47 games. However, his sparkled in these games and managed to achieve his usual performance. Before the 2007-08 Season, he reduced his weight to 230 pounds (100 kg) and decided to focus more on defense as he was not related to offense anymore.
On 18th May 2008, Pierce registered 41 points in Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and this became the second highest point total in the history of franchise. He held the most three-point field goals and ranks third in the history of Boston Celtics.
Pierce was included in the deal which sent him, Jason Terry, and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets. In the following off-season, he signed with Washington Wizards but only stayed for one season. He then came back to Los Angeles to play with the Clippers. In 2017, he signed back to Celtics and retired shortly after. His career statistics are 26,397 points, 7,527 rebounds, and 4,708 assists.
Career Accomplishments:• NBA champion (2008)• NBA Finals MVP (2008)• 10-time NBA All-Star (2002–2006, 2008–2012)• All-NBA Second Team (2009)• 3-time All-NBA Third Team (2002, 2003, 2008)• NBA All-Rookie First Team (1999)• NBA Three-Point Shootout champion (2010)• Number 34 retired by Boston Celtics• Consensus first-team All-American (1998)• McDonald’s All-American (1995)• California Mr. Basketball (1995)• Number 34 retired by Boston Celtics• Number 34 jersey retired by the University of Kansas
