Paul Pierce is a product of his environment, so we’ll have to forgive his previous behavior.
The Boston Celtics legend admitted Tuesday on “Off the Clock with NBA Countdown” he hated the Celts when he was growing up. After all, Pierce hails from Inglewood, Calif., in a neighborhood near the arena the Lakers once called home.
Even more, he came of age during the 1980s, the heyday of the ferocious Lakers versus Celtics rivalry.
“I was an avid basketball fan, and growing up in Los Angeles in Inglewood, down the street from the Forum, I couldn’t stand the Celtics,” Pierce said. “I hated the Celtics so much. You understand the rivalry? I hated Larry Bird. I hated everything about the Celtics.”
The Celtics or Lakers would reach the NBA Finals nine times in the 1980s and win a total of eight championships. The teams met in four consecutive NBA Finals between 1984 and 1987, with the Celtics winning in 1984 and 1986 and the Lakers taking the 1985 and 1987 series.
Pierce on Thursday shared a clip of his revelation of ancient anti-Celtics bias via Twitter, and his caption provides an apt description of the arc of his personal story: “funny how things change,” he wrote.
The Celtics selected Pierce 10th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft, and he went on to play 15 seasons with the team. He led the Celtics to their most recent championship, which came in 2008 at the Lakers’ expense.
“So it’s real ironic that I get drafted by the Celtics and play against the Lakers and win a championship against the Lakers,” he said.
What better example of the phenomenon of one “becoming what one hates” is there than Pierce’s transition from Laker to Celtic?
