1. Paul Anthony Pierce was born on October 13,1977 and is an American former professional basketball player.
62 Facts About Paul Pierce
1. 2.
Paul Pierce played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association, predominantly with the Boston Celtics.
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Paul Pierce starred as captain of the Celtics, earning 10 All-Star selections and becoming a four-time All-NBA team member.
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Paul Pierce combined with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007 to form a "Big Three" that led Boston to two NBA Finals and an NBA championship in 2008.
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Paul Pierce was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 2008.
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In 2021, Paul Pierce was honored by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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In July 2013, Paul Pierce was traded to the Brooklyn Nets along with teammates Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry.
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Paul Pierce signed with the Washington Wizards as a free agent in 2014.
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Paul Pierce spent two seasons with the Clippers before retiring in 2017.
10.
Paul Pierce was cut from Inglewood High's varsity basketball team during his freshman and sophomore years and seriously thought about transferring before spending extra time in the gym and becoming the "best player on the team" by the end of his junior year.
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Paul Pierce went on to participate in the 1995 McDonald's All-American Game alongside future NBA stars Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, and Antawn Jamison, and was a contestant in the game's Slam Dunk Contest, which was won by Carter.
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Paul Pierce grew up a Los Angeles Lakers fan and dreamed of playing for the team.
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In 2012, Paul Pierce was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
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Paul Pierce spent three years at the University of Kansas between 1995 and 1998.
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Paul Pierce earned honorable mention All-Big Eight honors and was selected second-team Freshman All-American by Basketball Weekly.
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Paul Pierce was honored as the Big Eight Co-Freshman of the Year with Colorado's Chauncey Billups.
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Paul Pierce was selected First Team All-Big 12 Conference by both the AP and Coaches, and was named Associated Press First Team All-American and a finalist for the 1998 John Wooden and Naismith awards.
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Paul Pierce left the University of Kansas following his junior season and entered the 1998 NBA draft.
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Paul Pierce was selected with the 10th overall pick in 1998 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, a team he "despised" growing up.
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Paul Pierce scored 19 or more points in 10 of his first 11 contests.
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Paul Pierce led the Celtics and finished eighth in the league in points per game and fourth in total points.
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Paul Pierce was named NBA Player of the Month for March 2001 after averaging 30.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.60 steals for the month.
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That season, Paul Pierce led the Celtics to the playoffs for the first time in seven years and on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
24.
From 2002 to 2006, Paul Pierce made the All-Star team every season.
25.
Paul Pierce led the league in total points in 2002 and was an All-NBA Third Team selection in 2002 and 2003.
26.
In Game 7 of their series against the Cavaliers, Paul Pierce racked up the second most Game 7 points in franchise history with 41 as the Celtics edged the Cavaliers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
27.
On June 5,2008, in Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Paul Pierce was injured in the third quarter and was carried off the court appearing to be in serious pain.
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Paul Pierce was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after averaging 22 points per game over the six-game series.
29.
Paul Pierce missed only one game the entire season and led the team in scoring.
30.
Paul Pierce was named to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game and for the first time to the All-NBA Second Team.
31.
At the 2010 NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Paul Pierce became the first Celtic since Larry Bird to win the Three-Point Contest.
32.
On June 29,2010, Paul Pierce opted out of his contract and invoked his early termination clause to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1,2010.
33.
On November 3,2010, during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Paul Pierce scored his 20,000th career point on a free throw, becoming the third player in Celtics history to reach that milestone solely in a Celtics uniform.
34.
On February 7,2012, during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Paul Pierce scored 15 points to pass Larry Bird for second place on the Boston Celtics' all-time scoring list.
35.
Paul Pierce was named to his tenth NBA All-Star appearance on February 9,2012.
36.
Paul Pierce then played his 1,000th career game with the Celtics on March 9,2012, against the Portland Trail Blazers; only Pierce, John Havlicek, and Robert Parish have played in over 1,000 career games for the Celtics.
37.
Paul Pierce finished the playoffs averaging 18.9 points per game while shooting only 38.6 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.
38.
On January 27,2013, against the Miami Heat, Paul Pierce recorded his first triple-double of the season with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
39.
On February 10,2013, against the Denver Nuggets, Paul Pierce recorded his second triple-double of the season with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists becoming the oldest player, in a game of any length, to record at least 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists.
40.
On March 29,2013, against the Atlanta Hawks, Paul Pierce recorded his third triple-double of the season with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
41.
Paul Pierce averaged 19.2 points per game while shooting a poor 36.8 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three-point range along with 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the playoff series loss.
42.
Paul Pierce convinced Garnett to waive his no-trade clause so that the deal could come to fruition.
43.
Paul Pierce scored 1,000 points for the 15th straight season, becoming the only active NBA player and the sixth player in NBA history to score 1,000 points in 15 straight seasons.
44.
Two weeks later, Paul Pierce passed Reggie Miller for 16th place on the NBA's career scoring list with a season-high 28 points against the Boston Celtics.
45.
Paul Pierce finished the regular season averaging 11.9 points per game, a career low.
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Paul Pierce finished the game with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
47.
The shot swished, apparently tying the score at the buzzer, but the play was reviewed, showing the clock expired before Paul Pierce released the basketball.
48.
On June 27,2015, Paul Pierce opted out of the second year of his contract with the Wizards to become a free agent.
49.
On July 10,2015, Paul Pierce signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
50.
Paul Pierce subsequently moved into 15th on the NBA career scoring list with 26,397 points.
51.
On July 17,2017, Paul Pierce signed a ceremonial contract with the Boston Celtics in order to retire with the team.
52.
Paul Pierce's jersey was raised to the rafters of TD Garden in a postgame ceremony following the Celtics-Cavaliers game, becoming the 23rd person in Celtics history to be honored.
53.
In 2021, Paul Pierce was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
54.
Paul Pierce was a member of the United States national team for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, starting all nine games and averaging 19.8 points per game.
55.
Paul Pierce was selected for the United States national team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, but did not compete because of minor off-season surgery.
56.
Paul Pierce was fired by ESPN after streaming from his Instagram Live on April 2,2021.
57.
Paul Pierce showcased himself drinking alcohol from a small cup and smoking a blunt while responding to fan messages.
58.
In March 2024, Paul Pierce joined FS1 as a basketball analyst in a contributor role for the sports talk show Undisputed, hosted by commentator Skip Bayless.
59.
On September 25,2000, Paul Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck, and back and had a bottle smashed over his head while at the Buzz Club, a late-night dance club in the Boston Theater District.
60.
In 2003, two and a half years after the attack, Paul Pierce pledged $2.5 million to help expand the high-tech surgical center at Tufts-New England Medical Center that helped make his recovery possible.
61.
Paul Pierce divulged this information as part of the NBA's initiative to focus on the mental health of its players.
62.
In January 2022, in a class-action lawsuit filed against the cryptocurrency company EthereumMax that alleged the company is a pump and dump scheme, Paul Pierce was named as a defendant along with media personality Kim Kardashian, former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.