Paul Pierce has never been shy about taking a shot at LeBron James, and this time, he went straight at the heart. Speaking recently on the No Fouls Given podcast, the Celtics legend argued that Stephen Curry, not LeBron, should be viewed as the defining player of the modern NBA era.
“Let me ask y’all, dog. Seriously though, how many times has Curry beat Bron in the finals? He beat him three times in the finals.”
“The man has an unanimous MVP while Bron was in his prime. He can’t get one vote?”
“Nobody’s giving an unanimous MVP in the Jordan era… If we’re saying you’re the second best player all time, which a lot of people do, how can a man get a unanimous?”
Pierce’s argument rests on two things he believes matter most when comparing stars who overlapped for more than a decade: head-to-head results and historical achievements. From his point of view, Curry has a clear edge in both areas.
Curry and James met in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, with Golden State coming on top in three of them. Kevin Durant’s arrival in 2016 tipped the scales massively in one direction, but Pierce didn’t take that into account.
Pierce then went further by bringing up Curry’s unanimous MVP season in 2015–16, something no player had ever achieved before. Curry received all 131 first-place votes after leading the Warriors to a 73–9 regular season, the best record in league history. LeBron finished third in that voting, behind Kawhi Leonard.
To Pierce, that detail carries serious weight.
This is not the first time Pierce has taken aim at LeBron. Over the past year alone, he has suggested James should come off the bench, argued the Lakers might function better without him, and left LeBron off certain all-time lists. Whether that history reflects bias or just honesty depends on who you ask.
What is clear is that Pierce is consistent. He believes Curry’s Finals success against LeBron and that unanimous MVP season place him ahead when defining the modern era. Fans will keep debating rings, teammates, context, and longevity. Pierce is not interested in splitting hairs.
From his perspective, the era belongs to Steph Curry, and the numbers, moments, and banners back him up.
