Photo Credit: Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images
Exclusive – Paul Pierce Rolls Up On Locals In Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, Australia – NBA legend and Boston Celtics icon Paul Pierce rolled up on the Australian locals last night, as the 2008 NBA Finals MVP made his way to the inner city suburb of Prahran to play some one-on-one, answer questions and watch the next generation of young aspiring ball players as a part of his “You’re A Legend Tour”.
Located on the outskirts of central Melbourne, Pierce made his way to the famous Prahran Park Basketball Courts, which serves as a melting pot for all Australian ballers both young and old to meet and showcase their talent in games of pickup and one-on-one duels. The now 41 year old was greeted by a sea of Green jerseys, as Celtics fans were out in full force to get a glimpse of their cult hero.
Pierce proceeded to play some one-on-one with local fans, answer some questions and take some photos before heading to a secluded court where he was involved with a practice session for inner city kids.
Pierce is down under from the 1st to the 6th of October across Melbourne and Sydney, and the 10-time All-Star finds himself in Australia during the country’s biggest sporting week consisting of UFC243, the Nation Rugby League Grand Final and the domestic National Basketball League season all tipping off.
The hype around Pierce’s appearance was all too real for the locals, and it may have been the only opportunity for fans to catch a sight of the Celtics great, given his brief stay.
Despite the fandom, OpenCourt-Basketball was able to catch up with the dynamic scorer, as Pierce was happy to share his thoughts about aspects of his career.
Acknowledging he was still the biggest guy on the court at the time, “The Truth” made sure everyone knew he was still one of the “smaller” guys throughout his career.
“I’m 6’7” and listed as a small forward, but I was a guard, I played guard a lot man, for real.”
As the Kansas product picked up the ball and sunk a long three-pointer, I was eager to know if he thought he was a better marksman than his former teammate Ray Allen. Pierce smirked and gave typical scorers response.
“Ray Allen was a better shooter, but I made more big shots than he did.”
He wasn’t lying either, as the future Hall of Famer developed his reputation as one of the greatest closers and clutch performers the league has ever seen. Living for the big moments, Pierce’s signature clutch plays live long in the memory of any NBA enthusiast.
Reminiscing, Pierce went on to open up about his individual achievements and talk about the famous 2008 championship Celtics.
“I’m satisfied with not winning a regular season MVP, because I was a Finals MVP in 2008 and that meant everything. That’s the best team I’ve ever played on, those 2008 champion Boston Celtics.”
Pierce amassed over 26,000 points during his career, was named on five All-NBA teams and has since had his number 34 jersey retired with both the Boston Celtics and University of Kansas. “The Truth” is now a basketball analyst and looking to help the next generation of NBA stars reach their potential.
