Washington Wizards: Where Will Paul Pierce Finish On All-Time Scoring List?

On Monday night Paul Pierce of the Washington Wizards scored his 25,280th career point, moving him past Reggie Miller into 16th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Pierce finished the game with a season-high 28 points as the Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics 133-132 in double overtime.  His career total now stands at 25,300.  Miller offered his congratulations to Pierce on Twitter:

How far up the list will Pierce be able to go?

Based on his recent performances against his former ballclub, the 37-year-old Pierce isn’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon.  On Sunday in Boston Pierce shot 6-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc for 16 points.  However, he missed a three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining and the Wizards trailing by one, and they ended up falling to the Celtics 101-93.

Monday when the two teams met again, Pierce had his chance for redemption.  He made nine of 12 shots from the floor and four of five from downtown, including this clutch three that sent the game into a second overtime:

After scoring a combined 44 points in the two meetings with Boston, Pierce is now averaging 13.5 points per game for the season.  We’ll use that number as an opening barometer for how high he might be able to climb on the all-time scoring list:

Pierce trails Alex English by 313 points.  If he continues to score 13.5 per night, Pierce will top English in 24 games.  “The Truth” should have no trouble taking over 15th place on the list this season.

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Pierce’s former teammate, Kevin Garnett, sits at No. 14.  Garnett is currently averaging 7.5 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets.  If Pierce keeps outscoring Garnett by six points per outing it’ll take him 76 games to make up the difference in their career totals.  The Wizards have 62 games remaining on their schedule this season, Brooklyn has 63.

Barring an injury to Garnett, it’s a long shot that Pierce passes him this year.

Garnett’s contract is up at the end of the season and it’s widely assumed that he will retire.  Pierce, on the other hand, signed a two-year deal with the Wizards last summer.  Considering the way he’s currently playing, it would likely take a massive and abrupt drop off in his skill set for Pierce not to return in 2015-16.

Whether or not Garnett is still in the league, Pierce is all but certain to eclipse his good friend on the all-time scoring list next season.

At No. 13 on the list is another Celtic great, John Havlicek.  It will take Pierce 82 games at his present average to surpass Havlicek’s 26,395 points.  Pierce suited up 77 times for the Celtics in 2012-13 and 75 times for the Nets last year.  If he plays 70 games this season, he’ll finish the year with roughly 25,975 career points, 420 behind Havlicek.

Should Pierce average 10 points per game in 2015-16, he’d trump Havlicek right around mid-season.

Going off those estimates, Pierce could move in front of No. 12 Dominique Wilkins in his 70th game next year.  Only 42 points ahead of Wilkins is No. 11 Oscar Robertson, another position within Pierce’s reach.

The No. 10 spot belongs to Hakeem Olajuwon, who is exactly 1,646 points ahead of Pierce right now.

It’s unlikely, but Pierce does have an outside chance at catching him–either by keeping his scoring average where it is for both this year and next (13.5 points over 122 games), staying remarkably healthy (11.6 points over 142 games), or coming back for the 2016-17 season.

I’m not going to predict Pierce finishes his career among the top 10 scorers of all time.

I wouldn’t bet against him either.

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