Paul Pierce and LeBron James’ rivalry has been known for quite some time and even after the Boston Celtics star retired, he hasn’t stopped shading LeBron whenever he has the chance. Pierce has always been confident that he was a great rival to LeBron, often making bold claims about how he thinks he would have fared against the King.
In 2017, he probably made the boldest claims of all (which is a lot to say about Pierce) when he said LeBron wouldn’t have been as successful as he was in Miami if he and James were the same age at that time. They starred in some memorable battles over the years, but when Bron peaked, Pierce’s level was decreasing. During an interview with Cari Champion (who was driving an Uber car), he talked about his rivalry with LeBron.
Pierce revealed he enjoyed all the things they lived as rivals but making it clear that if they were the same age when LeBron was in Miami, the King’s career would’ve been very different (1:07 minute).
“I always said that if I and he [LeBron] were of the same age, it’d be different. He might not have gotten those championships in Miami If I was 26 and he was 26.”
During his times in Cleveland, LeBron couldn’t get the job done against the Celtics; when he signed with Miami and formed the Big 3 with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the King could get past his nemesis and lead the Heat to the Finals. He played in four consecutive Finals in South Beach while the Celtics were dismantled a couple of years after LeBron beat them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Still, nobody can change Pierce’s mind on this matter. He is convinced that he had a better career than Dwyane Wade, as well as claiming that he would have stopped Miami LeBron, the meanest version of the King in the NBA.
