Paul Pierce is not backing down on his take that his 2008 NBA Finals win over Kobe and him being named Finals MVP made him the best player in the world. Following the 2008 NBA Finals, he was asked by a Spanish publication if Kobe was the best player in the world, he confidently claimed the title of the world's best player and then stated, “There’s a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don’t cross that line, but I have a lot of confidence in myself.”
He then was asked to clarify his comments by media at his youth basketball camp at the time and doubled down, saying, “That’s what I said. I am a confident player and a lot of people might look at it like ‘Oh, another cocky attitude,’ but I don’t look at it that way. I have an opinion, I have a right to have one and that’s the way I feel. I felt I’ve played against the best over the years and felt right now that I’m the best player in the world.”
How could @paulpierce34 say Kobe was a better player right after beating him in the finals?
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Paul Pierce was on the debut episode of his new podcast The Truth Lounge and broached the topic again 16 years later. It's safe to say that he hasn't changed a bit.
“So the year I won, I got controversy. The year I won, I got MVP. We went to Spain. Remember we went to Spain through the camp and everybody got all mad because they was like, Hey, you know who you just played against? Kobe, the best player in the world. And now what I say? I said, Wait, I said, I'm the best player in the world. I thought I was the best player in the world. If you went finals MVP, you I thought I was the best player in the world. I said I'm better than Kobe, I'm the best player in the world.”
Pierce did have an amazing NBA Finals series against the Lakers in 2008. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the six-game series. His numbers weren't too far away from Bryant's final averages of 25.7 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds.
Pierce is certainly entitled to his own opinion that he was the best player in the world in 2008. And, with the numbers to back it up, he isn't far off in his assertion.
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