Current ESPN analyst Paul Pierce previously turned some heads when he excluded Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James from his top-five all-time list. According to the future Hall of Famer and Boston Celtics legend, that can still change, on one condition.
Asked about what a fourth title would mean for James' legacy on ESPN's “NBA Countdown,” Pierce revealed that he will include The King back in his top five should he win his fourth NBA championship this season:
The Truth, ladies and gentlemen. Pierce is notorious for giving head-turning takes, and this LeBron one is one of his crazier ones.
Pierce initially went with Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant as his top five of all time. Excluding The King is a glaring omission considering what he has accomplished throughout his career.
Pierce and James had some heated battles in the past in the Eastern Conference. While Pierce bested LeBron in a couple of instances, James eventually got over the hump and took down the Celtics in impressive fashion. Remember Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals?
It certainly looked like sour grapes when Pierce first made his controversial claim. Nonetheless, he argued that James didn't build teams from the ground up to win his titles, unlike the other legends he named on his list. Pierce said that James needed to “put together” his squad when he won his championships with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
James and the Lakers are one of the heavy favorites to win the 2020 NBA championship when the season resumes in a couple of days. Despite being 35 years old, James has played at an extremely high level for the entire season. He has led the Lakers to the top seed in Western Conference and is also a candidate to claim his fifth MVP trophy.
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