Paul Pierce recently doubled down on his claim that he had a better career than three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade, but the Boston Celtics legend feels many people have misinterpreted his comments.
Pierce first made waves with the take back in 2019, when he said he would have won five or six championships if he had the same supporting cast that Wade had with the Miami Heat. Pierce was asked to justify the comparison during a recent appearance on the “Is What It Is” show, and he did not change his stance.
Pierce’s main point is that his “skills went under-appreciated” because he was on bad rosters for the majority of his career. In a lengthy tweet on Monday morning, he insisted his comments were more about “the narrative surrounding me” than comparing himself to D-Wade. Pierce, who won one championship, also admitted that Wade has a better resume than him.
Pierce also said the same argument can be made for other players who had poor supporting casts like Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.
You can see the full tweet below:
I never compared myself to Dwayne wade I was ask a question how would u answer if u was me I would never disrespect him he is an all time great all I’m saying is the narrative surrounding me would be different if I was lucky enough to play with all timers earlier in my career…
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) July 24, 2023
Pierce did not have a real chance to contend until his age-30 season, when the Celtics acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Both Allen and Garnett were past their primes by that time, too. We will never know how many titles Pierce would have won if he had gotten help sooner.
Even if Pierce did not mean to knock Wade’s career, one of Wade’s former teammates certainly took offense to the remarks.
