Paul Pierce proudly takes credit for elevating legendary LeBron James’ career

LeBron James will be a part of the Team USA for the 2024 Olympics.

Paul Pierce proudly takes credit for elevating legendary LeBron James’ career

Paul Pierce talks about LeBron James

Boston Celtics Legend Paul Pierce was one of the most efficient scorers of his time. He could drop buckets on anyone possible. During his playing time, he had an intense rivalry with the current Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. Reminiscing the rivalry, Pierce recently made a bold comment about his rivalry with James.

Paul Pierce has become a staple on FS1’s Undisputed alongside Skip Bayless and Keyshawn Johnson. On the show, the former Boston Celtics star proudly stated that he was the reason for elevating LeBron James to legendary status. According to Pierce, he took James to the next level and referred to their post-season battles. 

I truly feel responsible for taking LeBron to that next level because when he went to Miami, Game 6 in Boston where we had him on the ropes to go back to the finals, I think that was the game that was the game that took LeBron to the next level.
Paul Pierce via Undisputed
YouTube video

James and Pierce have had great duels with each other and have managed to deliver at all costs. The Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference semi-finals was legendary. Both stars scored 40 points each, with Pierce coming on top. Also, in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals where James scored 45 points and manhandled the Celtics. To date, many still consider this as James’s best game.

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Pierce will go down in history as one of James’s fierce rivals. Both stars also had a great supporting cast besides them, like Kevin Garnett, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen who made the games even more interesting. Whether Pierce elevated James to the next level remains debatable at best.

Paul Pierce claims Jayson Tatum to be the best player on Team USA over LeBron James

Paul Pierce has always shown his love and respect for the Boston Celtics franchise. During the show with Skip Bayless and Keyshawn Johnson, Pierce made some bold comments. He stated that Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was the best player on the current stacked Team USA for the Paris Olympics.

Many NBA fans were shocked after hearing Pierce’s comments. He chose Tatum over superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. The entire conversation took place around LeBron James getting voted as the best player on Team USA. Pierce refused to acknowledge the voting and made his own comments on the situation.

All these kids are saying that now, I'm not saying that. He [LeBron James} probably could actually be, but the best player on the team is Jayson Tatum… I'm talking about the USA 2024 Olympic Basketball team.
Paul Pierce via Undisputed

Jayson Tatum came off a dominant season with the Boston Celtics. He was one of the main pillars of the Celtics championship run. Pierce considered this as James, Durant, and Curry didn’t make it far in the playoffs. This was another bold claim from Pierce, continuing to make noise in the sports media world.

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