Celtics Legend Offers Bizarre Take On Ravens’ Lamar Jackson

Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce has never been one to shy away from providing his take on all things basketball, but the 2008 NBA champion made a bold statement about Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on FS1's "Speak" on Wednesday.

"I think for him to be the face of the league, he's gotta get out of Baltimore," Pierce said. "... If Lamar was on Dallas right now, same accolades, he'd be the face of the league. He'd be one of the faces. If Lamar was on San Francisco... He'd be the face. With his statistics on a different team. Think about that. If he was on another team outside of Baltimore."

The two-time NFL MVP has established himself as one of the league's best and most exciting stars. Jackson has led the Ravens to the playoffs in four of his first six seasons as a pro.

However, Pierce seemed to contradict himself when host Joy Taylor mentioned that Kansas City, like Baltimore, is a small market. Peirce added that the Chiefs have won multiple Super Bowls. As Taylor talked about the history of the Ravens and Hall of Fame players from the franchise, Pierce doubled down by bringing up the fandom.

"I don't walk around seeing people outside of Baltimore wearing Baltimore jerseys," he said. "We're talking about the face of the league. ... I believe he's in the same position this year I believe Jayson Tatum was in before he won his championship."

The 10-time NBA All-Star compared what Tatum had accomplished before winning the 2024 NBA championship and failed to get the respect he deserved to Jackson's statistics in the NFL, noting if the Baltimore QB won a championship, it would propel him to the top of the league.

Pierce wasn't the only New England sports figure to offer an opinion on Jackson. Ex-Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman called out the Ravens signal-caller for being "missing" in the playoffs during a preseason game on FOX last month.