Paul Pierce probably had no idea the firestorm he would set off on Friday evening before insisting that his career was better than Dwyane Wade's during ESPN's NBA Countdown.
Objectively, there's almost nothing to back up the former Boston Celtics great's claim. Wade has more championships, more All-NBA selections, three All-Defense honors to Pierce's zero, and more All-Star appearances. He averaged more points per game for his career in both the regular season and playoffs, and has a 2-1 record with the Heat against Pierce's Celtics in postseason series.
The eye test, unfortunately for Pierce, probably makes an even stronger case for Wade than anything quantitative, either. There was a time in the late 2000s when Wade had a legitimate claim to the title of basketball's best player. Even after leading Boston, along with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, to a championship in 2008, no one but the biggest Celtics homers were harping about Pierce's potential status as the greatest player in the world.
The fallout from Pierce's assessment has made it clear the public vehemently disagrees with him here. Gabrielle Union, though, takes issue with not just his take on her husband's game, but the fact that Pierce would feel compelled to “diminish” another person who overcame long odds to reach the pinnacle of his profession just for fleeting personal gain.
This @paulpierce34 thing is wrong on many obvious levels but what I find most troublesome is this idea of a man trying to diminish another man that looks like him, was raised like him, in order to shine a tad brighter. Shit isnt entertaining, it's sad. ❤ & 💡good people.
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) April 6, 2019
Well said.
But in Pierce's defense, he surely couldn't fathom of the maelstrom his self-serving hot take would create when he first voiced it. It's also hardly surprising a future Hall of Famer in any sport would project utmost confidence with respect to their standing among playing peers – especially a rival.
Does that make Pierce right? As Union and a vocal consensus has made clear, no way.
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