When Paul Pierce NEEDED a rookie to STOP ‘trash-talker’ Michael Jordan, “I gotta come all the way back to the NBA just to get a pickup game with you”

Pierce did not want any of the smoke with Jordan.

When Paul Pierce NEEDED a rookie to STOP ‘trash-talker’ Michael Jordan, “I gotta come all the way back to the NBA just to get a pickup game with you”

Joe Johnson (L-USA TODAY Sports), Michael Jordan (M) and Paul Pierce (R-Getty Images)

Former NBA player Joe Johnson recently joined Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast and opened up on his time in the NBA. He was drafted 10th overall by the Boston Celtics back in 2001. The 7-time All Star would go on to play for the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Utah Jazz, and the Houston Rockets before returning to the Celtics 20 years later on a 10-day contract in 2021 and eventually retired with the team.

While talking to Jackson and Barnes, he was asked about his rookie season. He said that his rookie year was the same one in which Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan made a comeback to the NBA with the Washington Wizards. He recalled a game between the Celtics and Wizards in which he was asked to guard Jordan for the majority of the game by none other than ‘The Truth’ Paul Pierce.

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“We played against them (Washington Wizards) in the fourth game of the season. Eric Williams gets hurt… so they start me and I gotta guard MJ. Paul Pierce was like ‘Man I’m gonna get him in the fourth quarter, I need you to get him in the first three’… First off Toine (Antoine Walker) and MJ talking stuff to each other on the tip.. So MJ tell Paul ‘I gotta come all the way back to the NBA just to get a pickup game with you, just to get a run with you’. So they all going back and forth the whole game,” said Johnson.

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The Celtics ended up winning the game 104-95 with Johnson finishing with solid numbers, racking up 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan, on the other end, hadn’t skipped a beat as he put up 32 points for the game and held Paul Pierce to just 2 points in the fourth quarter.

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Joe Johnson scored his final NBA basket with the Celtics

Joe Johnson
Johnson in his second stint with the Celtics (Getty Images)

After playing in the NBA for 20 years, Johnson found himself without a team at the age of 40. He had last played 55 games in the 2017-18 season with the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. To his pleasant surprise, his agent called him and told him that the team that originally drafted him wanted to sign him on a 10-day contract. In December 2021, the NBA allowed teams to sign replacement players as a result of a lot of players missing games due to health and safety protocols.

After signing the contract, which he called a ‘no-brainer’, Johnson made his debut once again for the Celtics in a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He checked into the game with 1:58 remaining, much to the delight of the crowd, and drained a beautiful two-point jumper, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He became only the second player after Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, to score a bucket with the same team at age 20 and 40. Moments like these are what players live for and it was truly a special one for “Iso Joe”.

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