Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

45 of 78

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 43 – Paul Pierce

Career: 1998 – 2017

Achievements: 2008 champion; All-NBA (4x); All-Star (10x); Finals MVP; 19th in career scoring

Paul Pierce becomes the third player on this list from the 2008 Boston Celtics title team, an illustration of just how talented that team was, and how disappointing it is that they never won more than one title. Pierce was a classic scoring wing, with a lack of athleticism never a hindrance to his ability to get to his shot and hit shots no matter the defense.

Seriously, Pierce had a couple of spots on the court that he loved to pull up and shoot from. Defenses knew that — it showed up clearly on tape, they could have circled them on the court in Sharpie. Yet defenders couldn’t stop him from getting there and creating just enough space to drain the shot in their face.

Pierce toiled as the solo star of the Celtics for years before gaining Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen as teammates in 2007-08. His consistent scoring helped him climb the career-scoring leaderboard. Later in his career, after his prime, he became a big-shot taker for other playoff teams, proving again and again his fearlessness to take the shots that are needed, just as he did in bringing Boston its only title since 1986.