Is Paul Pierce now one of the Great Celtics??

The defending national champions, The Celtics, have a lot of new faces that aren’t exactly familiar faces in Boston with the exception of one man, Paul Pierce. Pierce was drafted 10th overall in 1998 by the Boston Celtics. Over the last 10 years the Celtics have had some of the worst moments in NBA history, but in contrast, Pierce has been part of some of the most memorable. Some of those moments that come to mind are the Celtics comeback against the Nets in Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference finals. Another more recently was the comeback in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals against the Lakers. These two comebacks I would consider two of the best of all time. Paul Pierce has been a part of these and other great moments in the NBA and finally winning championship ring in 2008 with the Celtics.

All of this begs the question, Does Paul Pierce get considered as one of the greats in Celtic history?

When you think about the Celtics franchise you are automatically confronted with 17 NBA titles and some of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball. To name a few, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Robert Parish and many more. Along with those names comes not only the titles, but some of the greatest rivalries known in the sports world; Most notably, the Celtics vs. the Lakers. It seems fitting that Paul Pierce’s inclusion in the debate of the greatest Celtics came after the championship rivalries known in the sports world; Most notably, the Celtics vs. the Lakers. It seems fitting that Paul Pierce’s inclusion in the debate as on of the greatest Celtics came after the championship win against the Lakers.

Now, obviously, from a ring standpoint, Paul Pierce still needs a few to match the likes of Bill Russell and Larry Bird. However, from a statistical standpoint he ranks among the top. He ranks #1 in three-pointers, #3 in free throws, #4 in NBA Efficiency and #5 in defensive rebounds. One of the stats more respected among NBA fans is scoring; Paul Pierce is ranks second in scoring behind Larry Bird. Below is a table of the top regular season scorers per game, to qualify they needed to play at least 8 seasons.

Player	Yrs	PPG
Larry Bird	13	24.3
Paul Pierce	10	23.1
John Havliceck	16	20.8
Antoine Walker	8	20.6
Tommy Heinsohn	9	18.6
Bob Cousy	13	18.5
Jo Jo White	10	18.4
Dave Cowens	10	18.2
Bill Sharman	9	18.1
Kevin McHale	13	17.9
Sam Jones	12	17.7
Robert Parish	14	16.5
Bill Russell	13	15.1

Of course, there are two sides to every argument, but in the end I believe that now Paul Pierce needs to be mentioned when talking about other Celtic greats, and when He retires, his number, 34, will hang in the rafters alongside the other men that played for one of the greatest franchises in NBA history.

By JON

Please tune in to our show if you want to discuss this or any post, also if there is something you would like us to discuss just let us know!