Paul Pierce Wanted to be Drafted by the L.A. Clippers in 1998

Paul Pierce is a Boston Celtics legend that finished his career in Los Angeles, but he would have preferred to start it there instead.

Paul Pierce is an NBA legend. The 10-time All-Star was a prolific scorer in his heyday, averaging at least 20 points per game in eight seasons. That earned him a permanent place in the record books as well: Pierce ranks 15th on the list of the NBA's all-time scorers, less than 100 points behind San Antonio Spurs great Tim Duncan. 

Pierce spent the majority of his career with the Boston Celtics, the franchise that selected him 10th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft and has since retired his number. But if it were up to Pierce, he would've started his career elsewhere.

Pierce appeared on the All The Smoke podcast Thursday, chatting up co-hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. When asked about entering the NBA Draft, Pierce said the following:

"The Clippers was the number one pick," he said. "And I was like, I wanna go home and play. So I worked out for them, and then I asked them for a second workout... Clippers wanted a big man, so they pick [Michael] Olowokandi."

Pierce was born in Oakland and raised in Inglewood, so the connection makes sense. But instead of being taken with the top pick in the draft, Pierce slipped to the Celtics. 

The pairing obviously worked out for Pierce in the long run, as he would go on to win a title in Boston in 2008. But he wasn't thrilled at first.

"I was competitive," he said. "I wanted to be the number one pick, at worst two. So now all those eight, nine teams that passed on me, you're going to feel this one."

Of course, Pierce would eventually end up in Los Angeles at the end of his career. He spent two seasons with the L.A. Clippers from 2015-2017 under Doc Rivers, his former coach in Boston. There, Pierce struggled to produce and announced that he would retire following the 2016-2017 season. 

By drafting Olowokandi, the Clippers wound up missing out on Pierce — and a few other greats as well. Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Jason Williams were all top-10 picks that year, further adding to the franchise's misery at the time.

While we reminisce about what could have been, you can check out the rest of Pierce's interview here. (Warning: The video contains strong language).