Pierce Didn't Include LeBron In His Top 5 All-Time NBA Players List

Paul Pierce snubbing LeBron on his all-time list hurts himself more than LeBron

Sports Illustrated | May 21, 2020

Paul Pierce released his top 5 NBA players of all-time and his career rival LeBron James was nowhere to be seen on it. Regardless of how Pierce feels about LeBron, there's no denying that James is a top 5 talent and not including him hurts Pierce more than LeBron.

Paul Pierce only hurts himself with his LeBron James ranking. I mean, I don’t care where he puts LeBron personally, even if the idea of him being outside the top five is ludicrous, more so given Pierce’s reasoning that James never elevated a franchise, when he’s the only reason the Cleveland Cavaliers matter at all. And Pierce talked about LeBron putting together a team, when he himself played for the Boston Celtics who already had the history, with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo who were all in or close their primes...which is at least part of the reason the Heatles happened in the first place.

See, here’s the thing. Pierce was a great player. A go to clutch scorer with all time footwork, not to mention a fierce competitor. And he went head to head with LeBron many times. That should elevate his status, but instead he seems to want to self sabotage in diminishing James and saying he had a better career than Dwyane Wade. Whatever his intention is, he comes across as bitter for eventually being beaten and bounced, with LeBron lighting him up on the way out. It’s not a good idea to attempt to be James’ Isiah Thomas. So my advice for The Truth is to stop lying, so NBA fans don’t forget what he was really about.

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Published May 21, 2020