Bill Russell is "Proud" of Paul Pierce
By Bobby Burack
Today, Paul Pierce will join other Celtics greats in the rafters hanging from the TD Garden as his jersey is set to be retired.
A debate has broken out amongst social media users in regards to where The Truth ranks compared to other legends that wore the green and white, but one Celtic great took to Twitter to praise Pierce:
Congratulations to @PaulPierce34 #TheTruth on a GREAT career! Very proud to have you as part of my @celtics family. Have a great day & embrace the experience. I will see you soon at #NBAAllStar2018 #paulpierce #nba #espn pic.twitter.com/71NKEEFEH6
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) February 11, 2018
Universally known as the greatest Celtic ever Bill Russell expressed his gratitude to Pierce passionately saying:
"“One of the greatest things that can happen to an athlete is retiring as a Celtic.”"
One thing that is already being missed since Pierce’s retirement is the toughness and competitiveness he brought to the NBA. He always made his matchups with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James personal, and to this day, he believes LeBron is lucky they were not closer in age. Telling ESPN’s Cari Champion:
"“I always said that if I and he [LeBron] were of the same age, I’d be different. He might not have gotten those championships in Miami If I was 26 and he was 26.”"
While NBA fans across the country can debate the legacy of the former NBA Finals MVP, let’s just take a minute to reminisce on what he really brought to the NBA.