Former NBA superstar-turned-analyst Paul Pierce has been known to be daring when giving his two cents on any platform that presents itself in front of him. He added more to his controversial takes when he said that he sees a lot of himself in Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
"He got a lot of me in him. Seriously though. It looks slow & lethargic, but he always gets there. He's a better passer, but as far as scoring ability, me & him got a lot in common."
Paul Pierce sees a bit of himself in Luka Doncic.
Do you agree? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/oqXKfsDEJb
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 8, 2021
Unquestionably, Pierce was one of the fiercest competitors the NBA has ever seen. In his 15 years with the Boston Celtics, the Truth cracked the Top 10 list for games played, points, field goals 3-pointers, assists, rebounds and steals for the historic franchise, according to NBC Sports. In addition, he brought back an NBA championship to the city of Boston by beating a tough Los Angeles Lakers team.
Pierce has proved himself to be a phenomenal clutch player, but comparing himself to the Mavs star was quite a stretch.
Sure, they share similarities in that they both have the ability to take over games and shift the momentum to their team when needed the most. Also, they both have been praised for their sublime shooting and ability to create shots for themselves in the toughest of situations. However, Doncic is much different than Pierce in that the Slovenian guard has developed an offensive game in his first few seasons as a Dallas Maverick that took Pierce almost the entirety of his career as a Celtic to show the NBA.
Doncic has averaged 24.8 points in his first three seasons in the NBA, along with 8.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists. In the 2020 playoffs, Doncic averaged 31.0 points, 9.8 rebound, 8.7 assists and 1.2 steals in the series against the Los Angeles Clippers, making him the fifth ever to average 30/8/8 in a playoff series–joining players such as Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and LeBron James, via Yash Mantage of Sporting News. Not to mention this all happened while being 21 and playing on a bad ankle.
Pierce put up a respectable numbers as he developed his game in Boston, averaging in the mid-20s in most of his seasons. Maybe that is why Pierce saw some of himself in Doncic, purely based on scoring ability despite lacking athleticism. However, that is where the line should be drawn. Doncic's court vision and ability to involve his teammates is incomparable, as no one in the league does it better than him.
Luka's instincts are unbelievably developed at such a young age, proving that there is a lot of room for him to grow and how scary it is to think about his potential. Pierce, though what he accomplished in his career is remarkable, was nowhere close to where Doncic is right now, leading a franchise to compete in a merciless Western Conference.
Doncic does not have a ring like Pierce, but it is just a matter of time before Doncic and the Mavericks make a run in the playoffs again.
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