Paul Pierce has always been open about his hatred for LeBron James and the series of conflicts below are the root cause of the conflict between the two legendary forwards.
As one of the top players of his generation, LeBron James has many admirers and haters. One of the most openly hostile towards James is Celtics legend Paul Pierce, who recently entered the Hall of Fame. There has been a lot going on between the two great forwards, and Pierce has been unabashedly upset while LeBron has remained silent.
There have been many conflicts between Paul Pierce and LeBron James, causing the legendary Celtics forward to publicly express his hatred for James.
1. The reason
Paul Pierce is 6 feet 1 inch tall, while LeBron James is 6 feet 3 inches tall (now 6 feet 6 inches tall). The similarity in height makes the two stars play in the same small forward position. This means that Pierce and James often face each other and mark each other every time the two teams face each other. The heated clashes on the field are a factor that has sparked the hatred between the two forwards.
Besides, Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics could have completely dominated the East in the early 2010s. However, LeBron James and the Miami Heat were too big of an obstacle. The Pierce-Garnett-Allen trio broke up because of the Miami Heat empire, leading to Allen leaving the Celtics to join LeBron James’ army.
In addition, Paul Pierce also believes that he is the number 1 rival in LeBron James’ career. With the aforementioned trio, the Celtics defeated a young LeBron James in Cleveland. However, the game changed completely when LeBron James took sweet revenge in the Miami Heat dynasty. Therefore, Paul Pierce’s pride was extinguished when he was no longer LeBron James’s rival since 2011.
Pierce’s jealousy of James began when James entered the NBA.
2. Development
In a friendly match before the 2004 season, Paul Pierce expressed his desire to “show off” to the young LeBron James. After a pass by James, Pierce easily made the basket and celebrated loudly in front of thousands of spectators. However, LeBron James responded with a shot immediately after, followed by Pierce’s own steal for a beautiful dunk.
Paul Pierce was very angry after his junior stole the ball and immediately collided face to face with James. Both were called for technical fouls, and Paul Pierce spit on the Cavaliers bench when the referee ruled. Against a young player in the same position, Paul Pierce wanted to gain the upper hand but he did it wrong and was fined $15,000.
LeBron James then led the Cavaliers to the 2007 Finals, while Pierce and the Celtics struggled in the standings. The addition of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett instantly turned the Celtics into championship contenders, and Paul Pierce faced LeBron James in the Playoffs for the first time in his career.
Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals saw the climax of the Pierce-James incident. During a layup, LeBron James was fouled by Paul Pierce and charged into the stands. Gloria James, LeBron’s mother, who was sitting in the front row, stood up and yelled at the Celtics forward. LeBron James did not want his mother involved on the court, but in the heat of the moment, he yelled “Sit down!” directly at Gloria.
After the game, a reporter asked Pierce if his mother could beat Gloria. “I don’t know,” the Celtics’ Big Man laughed. “My mom is older, but she has a lot of strategy!” LeBron James, meanwhile, was embarrassed by what happened that day. “I sat her down in a way I shouldn’t have. Thank God it wasn’t Mother’s Day.”
LeBron James’ “take it out on his mother”
Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics defeated the Cavaliers in a tense 7-game series. Two years later, the two rival forwards met again in the conference semifinals. The Celtics’ consistency helped Pierce once again surpass LeBron in a 6-game series. And that was all Pierce could dominate until LeBron joined the Miami Heat.
In two consecutive years 2011 and 2012, LeBron James had sweet revenge in the Playoffs against the Celtics. Paul Pierce no longer had the advantage of a roster when James had better teammates in the Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics dynasty faded from there. Ray Allen leaving Boston to join Miami and winning the championship with the rival made Paul Pierce even angrier.
After retiring, Paul Pierce was honored by the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce’s retirement ceremony on February 11, 2018 took place after the match between the Celtics and the Cavaliers. Ironically, the excellent performance of James and the Cavaliers ruined Pierce’s joy at the retirement ceremony, when they defeated the home team with a big score. LeBron James retired early when the Cavaliers took a big lead, while Paul Pierce sadly watched his beloved team “destroyed” by the opponent.
James had fun with his teammates when he was leading by a long way while Pierce looked on pensively as his team lost heavily.
Conclusion
Although LeBron James clearly understood Paul Pierce’s hatred, The King chose to remain silent. After retiring, Paul Pierce has repeatedly “poked” the forward who plays for the Lakers. Ironically for Pierce, his job as an analyst at ESPN required him to say a lot (and say good things) about James. Because he could not draw a line between personal and professional matters, Paul Pierce was fired and later complained that ESPN talked too much about LeBron James, his enemy.
Paul Pierce is unhappy with his job at ESPN because he has to talk about LeBron James with great frequency
