On the latest edition of the Ticket & The Truth podcast, Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce explained why he doesn't think Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic can be the face of the NBA.
Said Pierce on the NBA stars, “When we talk about the best players, or the league is becoming a European League, and our top Europeans Luka and Joker, Giannis. They could care less about the All-Star Game and that’s fine but how can I see one of them as the face of the league, you know what I’m saying with that type of attitude I can't like see one of them being the face.”
It's not clear if Pierce has an issue with the players not being from America or not taking the NBA All-Star Game seriously. The issue with that rationale is that none of the NBA players participating in the All-Star game seemed to take it seriously or play with any real effort.
There's no denying that the NBA has blossomed into a global game. Worldwide interest exploding from the Magic Johnson/Larry Bird-era to the Michael Jordan-era created fans of the game all over the world. Naturally, as a generation passes, people from all over the world will grow up to be NBA players.
Pierce was in the news recently for reigniting his beef with former Miami Heat big man Udonis Haslem. Pierce questioned why Udonis Haslem's jersey was retired on the Heat rafters and they started exchanging statements. The Celtics legend then went on to address comments about his beef with the former NBA player on The Dan LeBatard Show.
“First of all, I’m trying to remember when he told me that because I never remembered hearing that. Second of all when we played Miami, when Udonis Haslem was out there, I don’t remember no hard screens, no hard fouls, no s— talking,” Pierce said.
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