[Highlight] Paul Pierce trash talks Al Harrington the entire possession before burying the 3 in his face
Lots of the young bucks on this subreddit don’t know about The Truth. Like he’s just that guy talking with KG all the time that shit himself.
Man was a walking talking bucket
Not just a bucket either. Legit all around player, no weakness.
Well one weakness.. don’t have this man guard iso Joe lol
Well, two weaknesses, don’t let this man start a live stream when pros are over at the house.
You’re forgetting his biggest weakness. Lack of bowel control.
That’s a strength. Gave the Cs momentum.
He came back lighter and faster
He was saving it for the forth
Like a weight was let out the backside.
Great ball control / horrible bowel control
“We are live.”
Iso Joe .. man what a problem
You can say that again
I need to find the lore on this because you’re the second person to reference it
Technically he’s actually the first to reference it
3 weaknesses. You forgot about the strippers lol
Him and Vince did whatever your team needed and it was always fun to watch
Did Vince’s team need him to quit on em and force a trade?
Butterfly wings something something 2019. It all worked out.
man fuck that no VC slander will be tolerated. the raptors refused to get that man any help. let Tmac go only to watch turn into a superstar. im glad he shit on them with two game winners when he came back.
Eh - it still was pretty pathetic how he bitched his way out of there. Turned his attitude around in time but that was not the move a franchise player makes all of the sudden only averaging 15 points per game or whatever it was
Right? It’s crazy how much the narrative around Vince changed as he got older. His nickname was “Wince Carter” for a reason.
Cuz they disrespected his mom and traded 3 all stars and a DPOY for washed vets.
Imagine trading Marcus Camby, who was elite until his late 30s leading the league in blocks just to sign a washed Hakeem
Man got stabbed eleven times in his face neck and chest. Played pro ball next month. No weakness.
First and only time a man has ever been crossed over and fallen forward.
Another weakness: don’t tell him Boston don’t love him like LA loves Kobe
That and bowel movements
The young bucks don’t know Al Harrington either, dude was also good
Those early 2000s Pacers squads were great. O’Neal was a beast. Harrington and Stephen Jackson were ballers. Jamaal Tinsley. Ron Artest was in All-Nba talks. Even old man Reggie Miller was still averaging 15 in his final year.
Pacers really put together some great teams that are just obstacles for the other teams in the east
That particular team was the obstacle in the East. Malice in the Palace occurred after the Pacers blew the doors off their rival, the defending champion Pistons, in their own house.
They were short sighted, reactive, and dumb but from a pure talent standpoint that team was loaded. IMO, they were the most talented Pacers team of all-time if you ignore the pre merger teams.
If the Malice didn’t happen they were the favorites to come out of the East.
I remember Reggie talking about that in the Malice documentary for Netflix. Basically saying that was my best and last chance at a ring and we fucking blew it by fighting.
I feel it’s necessary to attach a video of the time Ron Artest AKA Metta World Peace pantsed Paul Pierce midplay to reinforce your point. Artest was one of the only defender who gave Pierce problems and you can see why.
“MY NAME’S AL HARRINGTON, I GET BUCKETS!”
Finals MVP Paul Pierce while defeating prime Kobe and Pau.
People these days will come up with advanced metrics to say pierce wasn’t all that good and actually PJ brown was more valuable to team
Insane shit lol last thing I wanted to see down the stretch was the ball in Paul Pierce’s hands
The analytics love Paul because he actually played winning basketball.
Analytics love Paul pierce what are you talking about
Paul Pierce never took a bad shot in his career. Jaylen Brown seldom took a good one
True. But man his ego doesn’t help. He was great but not as good as he thinks
There’s a very long list of NBA players who aren’t as great as they think. Boston wanted him to be considered closer to Kobe, he of course wasn’t quite there, and while Pierce has turned himself into a joke he at least had an argument to stand on.
I don’t care if he shit his pants in the NBA Finals, there was a reason he was the Finals MVP. He truly held it down for the Celtics during the 00s.
I don’t care if he shit his pants in the NBA Finals
He didn’t, he had a partially torn MCL which is something that feels horrible at first, then you run it off after 15-30 minutes, then it kinda sucks but you can absolutely play through it. There was a post-game report from the team doctor that said Pierce was yelling he heard a pop and they thought it’s either an ACL tear or a bone break so he ordered a wheel chair. Back in the locker room they established it’s nothing and Pierce was standing on it and walking after 20 minutes, then did some run ups and said he’s actually fine
Maybe not in counting stats and advanced stats but he was a hell of an all around hooper. A nemesis to Kobe and early Bron. He was that dude.
He is THE reason Bron left Cleveland.
I agree I just think some of his takes don’t help younger fans appreciate his accomplishment and his talent
That ego and dawg in him got him to the nba in the first place my guy
Dude is one of the greatest players ever, in a sport that fields a few 100 players a year.
The Tim Duncan humble man stories are cute, but it’s unrealistic to expect a dude like him to be rational.
False. He was exactly as good as he thinks. Maybe better.
He just gets disrespected so hard, he feels the need to defend himself too much.
I mean he’s statistically top 3 most clutch player ever he has the right to be cocky also to be fair I don’t even think he believe he’s better than LeBron he just say that shit to rage bait KG lol
Nah bro he was one of the most clutch guys in the league his whole career.
The type of guy you hated seeing with the ball for the last shot. He was a baller.
You know exactly the shot he’s taking and you can put anyone you want on him, he’s still hitting that shot. That elbow stepback was sick
Finals MVP vs Kobe hall of famer so pretty good
Never said otherwise
Yeah he was. He lists #1 or #2 in a ton of stats for the Boston Celtics of all franchises
LeBron said he’d never be this good without Paul Pierce.
He was such a pure basketball player. Absolute legend imo
He also said he went to play in Miami to learn how to win from DWade. LBJ is constantly giving props that these young dudes try to trash. It’s baffling.
PP was a menace on 2k
I think it’s because KG has such a big personality. People forget that Pierce was the finals MVP for their run in 2008.
Man I love that highlight video of rookie Pierce and rookie VC going bucket for bucket. Kids don’t know these days.
I wish people would put some respect on the name of PeePee PooPoo himself
they don’t love him like that. they don’t think he’s kobe
The truth
Ok so I will always love that this is his nickname because of this story
I think like 12-14 years ago there was that trend on Facebook, you’d type “truth is” on your status and people would “tell the truth” about you, basically farming for compliments
My brother, who was around 18 and a little socially awk at the time, types “truth is” and the following comments go as;
Status: truth is
Friend 1: Paul pierce
Brother: is gay
Friend 2: you’re gay?
Brother: no Paul pierce
Bruh hahahahah
Incredible
I understand people don’t like Pierce these days because of his hot take addiction, but you can’t pretend he wasn’t absolutely that dude
He was the truth
Every now and then you see a player whose body doesn’t match their game. Paul Pierce never had one bicep his whole career and still gave teams the work. It was very frustrating watching a guy who looks like he plays at the gym ball up Kobe Bryant of all people.
he had a dad bod since high school complete with old man strength
Dude got stabbed like 50 times and played 82 games
Him and Zeebo. Cousins. Jermaine O’Neal. Glen Davis.
I think Portis is the only active chubby player I can think of rn keeping that archetype alive.
Luka too a few weeks after summer break is over.
He balled up everybody. His early years with Antoine Walker were really fun to watch too.
I lowkey thought him and Joe Johnson were the best crunch time shot makers in the league
You can think that in any key it’s true
I miss this era of basketball
It’s been a very long trip but Pierce was the fucking man back then.
even has a legendary moment with us in the twilight of his career
“I called game!” 🗣
Nobody I would want more down a point in the final possession. He’s going elbow fadeaway and there’s nothing you can do about it
That Celtic swag during that run… tops
This dude got stabbed and played 82 games. If he says the league is soft then he’s right
Dude literally could’ve easily died following a night club stabbing attack. Like multiple stabs in the back. One of the most insane NBA stories you’ll ever hear.
Shootout to Tony Battie for getting him to safety.
lol nice typo
I appreciate how Lakers fans tend to be the first to defend Paul Pierce. They know.
This sub would cry in tears if this happened today. We don’t get trash talk like this anymore in-game
Yea the refs don’t allow it.
i mean even back then the ref steps between them and tells them to cut it out
Even happens in this clip lol
We literally got something exactly like that this year between Jaylen Brown and Embiid in game 7
Besties now
We literally just watched Wemby shit talking “I’m in your head” after taking a hard foul in the finals
Come on man you cant expect this sub to actually watch the sport they’re talking about. Just gotta spout off nonsense clickbait takes.
Nah you just aren’t watching games
Alvarado and Champenie. Wemby ran his mouth hard. KAT was jawing
there was another one this past finals. I can’t remember who, maybe Brunson. But someone was just shit talking the person guarding them then drove it for the bucket
Everyone talks shit to Brunson. Fans to players. He doesn’t get that engaged as Pierce does here, but he does talk back a little. OG doesn’t really. Mikal sometimes.
When KAT is talking is when you know you’re in trouble.
Top teams don’t have a lot of big shit talkers rn. Let’s see how Ant and Lamelo do lmao.
I remember being at knicks-celtics game 5 last year. We started chirping brunson after he fouled out and he did a cute lil smile/wave at the jumbotron. He’s so likable and I really hate that about him
???? So do you like not watch at all or..?
Yeah cuz most of the NBA are friends now or played together comin up
No they aren’t. You fools just look at a handful of people that have been in the league for 15 years and think everyone is like that.
If i’m not mistaken, Pierce was top 5 in career 3 pointers made by the time of his retirement
Pretty positive he ended 4th when he retired
Beautiful call by Mike Gorman
I miss him dearly
Mike had such a great pace when calling the game. Never said too much and knew precisely when to let the game to the talking.
Miss him dearly too but I’m glad our last memories of Mike are him sipping champagne on the duck boats.
Gorman is still alive, bro.
The greatest commentator to ever do it
the refs telling them to shut up added to the drama
I hated this man for a reason🫡
respect
Yeah we hated Kobe hard because he was so good.
Well, and that other thing
He’d be one of the most annoying people to defend
Felt like he was in slow-motion but could always get the shot he wanted.
And long and deceptively strong.
That’s interesting. Makes me think that Luka is like a modern evolution of Pierce kinda??
Definitely some similarities with how the get to a spot and make space. Paul was a +++ athlete early on though and was never the playmaker that Luka is (but Pierce was solid in that area).
Yes 100% but players at the time said Paul was perhaps the strongest player in the league. He didn’t look like it but a ton of players asked to workout in the summer with him because he had some insane fitness regiment. Something like Steph
I still remember those player ads talking about other players in the league, when they talked about “the best bag in the league” everyone said Paul Pierce, and someone said “you don’t know where the ball is and you feel like a feather as he goes through you”
yup the existence of Lebron basically made people forget about him but he was that dude. His battled with Kobe were awesome. Even his time on the Nets was a blast.
Everything about this is beautiful and some of it epitomizes old school basketball at its finest.
Two similar sized individuals, the hard shove from Harrington of his teammate, the wide aggressive stance from Harrington, dual trash talk, annoying ref who still knows to ultimately stay out of the way, no late double team, the made shot with immediate end to the trash talk, both players cross paths at the timeout and it’s nothing personal.
Yeah the fact that he totally ignored Harrington at the end there is underrated. Didn’t take the bait. Didn’t shove him or keep talking. Didn’t need to. The possession already did enough.
The perfect commentary by Mike Gorman, too.
Paul would be even better in today’s league.
That’s cold
Pullup P
I’m a huge Paul Pierce guy. I’m a 50 year old NBA fan, Truth was numero uno after MJ hung em up. Have a sick black C’s practice jersey with his name on it. I represent The Truth all the time rockin that gear. Makes me happy frequently to know he was the best player on a championship team that beat Kobe in 7.
I was a big Antoine fan and coming off some shitty years he was awesome. But then Pierce came in, got stabbed and took the team over.
First nba game i ever watched i turned on at half time and saw this cold mother fucker drain like 20pts in the quarter. Boston fan ever since.
Paul Pierce is The Truth.
Maybe the coldest quote about a player that I can recall.
Ngl, was a sad day when we shit talked old man pierce and he beats us multiple times
multiple years lmao
bro changed organizations and still sonned us. People forget because lebron did us dirtier but pierce took our souls
Sonned the raps since 06 at the very least
load bearing childhood memory
Tough.
I kinda miss the days when we had nicknames for players. The Truth. The King. Flash. Splash Brothers.
Don’t think the current crop of players have such titles much.
Joker is a goated nickname for Jokic though
This is a Double tech in a lot of games today, depends of who is reffing
The Truth
It always pisses me off when Paul Pierce gets clowned on. Dude never shied away from the moment and regularly delivered
Underrated nowadays with the old man game.
Used to kill my cousin with him on nba live back in the day
Al was nice, too — would’ve thrived in this era tbh.
He was the Truth for a reason. Career isnt anywhere near what he wants and he became a bit of a clown after it but for his peak he was as good as anybody ever. Im glad most folks arent getting stabbed 11x in the offseason tho. He almost had as many all star teams as stabbing wounds
That ref is a hater btw
Per KG, the ref stepped in and said stfu. Different era
I miss this version of the NBA
I CALLED GAME
No one mentions that this was a random a** 3 at the end of the 3RD PERIOD…
Fuck it make it w i d e
It’s cropped from this video, you can tell from the music. I recognize it because I have this video saved lol. One of my favorite basketball highlights of all time.
This context deserves its own post:
Flash forward to the first round of the 2003 NBA playoffs, when a 25-year-old Pierce was hungry for more after nearly leading a very shallow Celtics roster to the Finals a season prior. They were 6th seed at this time, underdogs against an Indiana Pacers team that was in the midst of four conference finals appearances in seven years.
The Celtics led the series 2-1, thanks in large part to Pierce scoring Boston’s final 12 points en route to a game-high 40 points in a 103-100 Game 1 victory on the road over the Pacers. The Celtics were at home in Game 4, trailing by 16 points a minute into the third quarter when Pierce went nuts. He outscored the Pacers 21-10 on 7-of-8 shooting down the stretch in the third, and his last of three 3-pointers in the frame was the icing.
Pierce had been jawing with swingman Al Harrington for much of the night. With the shot clock off, he dribbled across midcourt carrying on an animated discussion with Harrington. Harrington pushed Erick Strickland aside who was going to defend Paul Pierce. Harrington’s length and athleticism made him fully capable defensively when engaged, and man was he engaged, crouching into a wide defensive stance, as Pierce bent to meet him for some heated trash talk.
Referee Joe DeRosa stepped between them mid-play to call off the conversation, so Pierce pointed to his spot on the floor and pulled up for three over the 6-foot-9 Harrington’s outstretched arms with five seconds left. The call from longtime Celtics play-by-play man Mike Gorman made the moment all the more lethal.
“Pierce,” said Gorman in the gravelly voice he gets when excited. “Buries it. Right in Harrington’s face.”
man had so many highlights and game winners. funniest guy in sports media too
The Truth.
My GOAT
just realized this is the same spot he hit that big clutch 3 over bron in 2012 ecf
Iconic moment. This is what made my sister like Paul Pierce than subsequently me. I like drew and scal but I miss Mike and Tommy. RIP Tommy.
Ron Artest coming over to take on Pierce and gets brushed off by Harrington.
He called game
As someone born in ‘83 who became a fan around ‘88-‘89, this man (and Reggie Lewis) got me through some very rough years of Celtics basketball. The team often sucked but he was so goddamn compelling as the franchise player. This clip always puts me right back on the couch in the basement watching that game.
Seemingly a fairly generous dude off the court, as well. Had a roommate 15 or so years back who had served him while working at a waitress in Boston’s South End. She mentioned that he was as easy as could be as a customer and tipped 100% on something like a $350 bill. She went right out and used that money to buy what she dubbed her “Paul Pierce dress.”
Dude deserves some of the clowning he gets, these days, but will always hold him dear.
i don’t know why but as a kid Al Harrington was always one of my favorite random players
Paul Pierce was so savage he even tried shit talking from the bench
He should’ve retired a Celtic
He ultimately did. 1 day contract.
People forget, man. THE TRUTH!
I remember this like it was yesterday. Such a great rivalry between these teams
I always thought this was at the end of the game, not the 3rd quarter. Still impressive but not as cold blooded as I originally thought.
What would this do to your analytics?
Isn’t the forced contested 3 sort of the shot you want the guy to take even if he makes it?
yep, a lot of talking and posturing just to not even try to take Al off the dribble and instead launch one that clanks off the rim harmlessly 7 times out of 10..
My childhood. What a fun time. I’ll always remember Nate Robinson jumping over Pierce, sliding across his back and onto the ground.
Lots of players think they are better than they are. He beat Kobe in the finals- no wonder his ego through the roof.
The trash talk, the pushing away help defense, this the type of basketball id watch
Pierce was really like that
You can find KG talking about this play. Garnett was saying the ref was telling them to STFU
Someone once said Paul Pierce look like he smells like garbage water and I believe that 100%
We are back
I’m so glad Pierce won a championship. The man is one of the most clutch players of all time. Don’t @ me or whatever the kids say these days.
I always wondered what Al says to him when he meets him on the other side of the court. Body language looks like “you won this one”
The shot at 0:10 is so iconic
That wide leg defensive stance is not for the perimeter.
the head shaking and Al’s leg wide stance always crack me up.
Never saw before that Harrington denied the double team attempt by his teammate
He carrying the hell outta that ball for the era
That dude was so cold
I miss this NBA
Al has been in the league since 1969
Shoutout Mike Gorman with an all time call
For the younger crowd that only knows Pierce for his dumb hot takes on ESPN, during his time in Boston he was a fucking baller. NBA champ and could create his shot from nothing, walking bucket when he had the ball.
Caleb Wilsons dad
Pierce gets rightfully clowned for his behavior and stupid takes since retirement but he is on a very short list of guys I’d want holding the ball in crunch time. Dude got stabbed 11 times and had the best season of his career, absolute gamer.
His drunken escapades after his career are just embarrassing and sad….and that’s for a guy who shit himself on the court.
If you’re going to be a rich wino, do it at home without the camera on you bro!
I-fucking-conic moment. Paul Pierce has so many great moments (pants shitting aside) in NBA history.
He had the ugliest game but MF was the TRUTH