Soon-to-be-inducted Hall of Famer Paul Pierce was in Boston for 15 years, picking up All-Star appearances in 10 of those seasons. He never averaged less than 18 points per game save once while he was in Boston, in his rookie season. The Truth was, for all intents and purposes, a stud. He almost did not even come to Boston, as well, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix wrote in his story on the Celtics’ legend Tuesday.
Before Pierce was drafted No. 10 overall in 1998, then-head coach Rick Pitino had been targeting Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki with the pick, he told Mannix. He went as far as telling Nowitzki to skip the draft combine and called up Red Auerbach, longtime Celtics head coach, to help seal the deal.
“I went home,” said Pitino, “thinking we had our guy.”
Soon-to-be inducted Hall of Famer Paul Pierce is planning a podcast with Kevin Garnett https://t.co/sYMwFTjzCc
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 7, 2021