Paul Pierce knows what LeBron James can do on the court.
Now as an analyst on TNT, the former Celtic thinks that, with another title this season, LeBron would be right behind Michael Jordan in the greatest of all-time discussion.
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This is a big turnaround from what Pierce has said in the past. Pierce notoriously put LeBron outside of his top five all-time back in May.
“What has LeBron did to build up any organization from the ground? I’m talking about these players, top-5 players,” Pierce said on ESPN’s NBA Countdown. “Bill Russell built the organization of Boston, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe, Bird. These guys are all-time top 10 players who helped build their organization or continued the tradition.”
Pierce did later say that, if LeBron James won another title with his third team, that that would propel him back into the top five.
Hey, at least Pierce is being consistent.
Pierce and LeBron had a big rivalry early on in James' career. The Pierce-led Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on their way to an NBA Championship in 2008. The Celtics would once again top the Cavaliers in the 2010 NBA playoffs, which some claim was one of the reasons for LeBron leaving Cleveland and taking his talents to South Beach and the Miami Heat that offseason. LeBron's move to Miami and joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh would give him the pieces around him to finally get past the Celtics, beating Boston in five games in the second round of the 2011 NBA playoffs. The biggest matchup between the two would occur the next year in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Heat winning the series in seven on their way to getting LeBron his first NBA Championship of his career.
Some have speculated the rivalry has clouded Pierce's mind and is the reason he hasn't given LeBron the credit some believe he deserves, but it would appear that Pierce is ready to put LeBron at the top of the mountain if he is able to win his fourth championship.
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