Paul Pierce has always publicly expressed his hatred for LeBron James and the series of conflicts below are the root cause of the conflict between the two legendary pioneers.
As a top player of his generation, LeBron James has many admirers and haters. One of the people who publicly expressed hatred for James was Paul Pierce, the Celtics legend who just entered the Hall of Fame. A lot happened between the two great strikers, and Pierce couldn’t hide his exasperation while LeBron kept silent.
1. Cause
Paul Pierce is 2m01 tall, while LeBron James is 2m03 tall (currently increased to 2m06). The fact that they are quite similar in height makes the two stars play in the same striker position. This means that Pierce and James often face and coach each other every time the two teams face off. The fiery collisions on the field were a factor that sparked hatred between the two strikers.
Besides, Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics could completely dominate the East in the early 2010s. However, LeBron James and the Miami Heat are too big obstacles. The Pierce-Garnett-Allen trio broke up because of the Miami Heat empire, leading to Allen leaving the Celtics to join LeBron James’s army.
In addition, Paul Pierce also believes that he is the number 1 opponent in LeBron James’ career. With the above trio, the Celtics defeated a young LeBron James in Cleveland. However, the situation changed completely when LeBron James took sweet revenge in the Miami Heat dynasty. That’s why Paul Pierce’s pride was extinguished when he was no longer a counterpart to LeBron James since 2011.
2. Developments
In an innocuous friendly match before the 2004 season, Paul Pierce expressed his desire to “punish” young LeBron James. After making a pass in front of James, Pierce easily went to the basket and celebrated loudly in front of thousands of spectators. However, LeBron James responded with a shot right after, followed by Pierce’s own steal for a beautiful basket.
Paul Pierce was very hot-faced after his junior stole the ball and immediately collided face-to-face with James. Both were given technical fouls, and Paul Pierce spat at the Cavaliers bench as the referee made the decision. Against a young player in the same position, Paul Pierce really wanted to gain the upper hand, but he did it the wrong way and was fined $15,000.
LeBron James’s steal of the ball made Paul Pierce angry and a scuffle between the two players ensued
LeBron James then led the Cavaliers to the 2007 finals, while Pierce and the Celtics struggled in the rankings. The additions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett immediately transformed the Celtics into a championship contender, and Paul Pierce faced LeBron James in the Playoffs for the first time in his career.
Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference semi-finals witnessed the climax of the incident between Pierce and James. During a drive to the basket, LeBron James was fouled very harshly by Paul Pierce and rushed towards the audience seats. Gloria James, LeBron’s mother sitting in the front row, stood up and raised her voice towards the Celtics striker. LeBron James didn’t want his mother to get involved on the field, but when he was stressed, he loudly shouted “Sit down!” straight in Mrs. Gloria’s face.
After the match, a reporter asked Pierce if his mother could take down Gloria. Bigman of the Celtics laughed loudly: “I don’t know. My mother is older, but she has many strategies!”. Meanwhile, LeBron James was very embarrassed by what happened that day. “I told her to sit down with an attitude that I shouldn’t have. Thank God it wasn’t Mother’s Day.”
Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics defeated the Cavaliers after 7 intense games. Two years later, the two rival pioneers met again in the regional semi-finals. The Celtics’ uniformity helped Pierce once again surpass LeBron after 6 games. And that was all Pierce dominated until LeBron joined the Miami Heat.
In two consecutive years 2011 and 2012, LeBron James had sweet revenge at the Playoffs against the Celtics. Paul Pierce no longer has the advantage of the squad when James has better teammates at the Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics dynasty has since faded away. The fact that Ray Allen left Boston to join Miami and won the championship with his rival made Paul Pierce even angrier.
After retiring, Paul Pierce was honored by the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement ceremony on February 11, 2018 took place after the match between the Celtics and Cavaliers. Ironically, the excellent performance of James and the Cavaliers players destroyed Pierce’s joy at the shirt retirement, when they defeated the home team by a large score. LeBron James retired early when the Cavaliers took the lead, while Paul Pierce sadly watched his beloved team be “destroyed” by their opponents.
LeBron James and the Cavaliers “destroyed” Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement
Conclude
Even though LeBron James clearly understands Paul Pierce’s hatred, The King still chooses to stay silent. After retiring, Paul Pierce has repeatedly criticized the striker playing for the Lakers. Ironically for Pierce, his job as an analyst at ESPN has him saying a lot (and speaking well) for James. Because he could not draw the line between personal and professional affairs, Paul Pierce was fired and later complained that ESPN talked too much about LeBron James, his enemy.
Quang Nhat
