Paul Pierce has always been a contradiction. He's not athletic enough to be an elite NBA scorer, yet he's averaged more than 22 points for his career. He's not quick enough to be a great defender, yet he's shut down Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the playoffs.
He'll never be Larry Bird, and yet there he was, passing Bird to move into No. 2 on the Celtics' all-time scoring list Tuesday night.
After the game, Pierce echoed the sentiments of majority.
"I’m not gonna sit here and say that I’m anywhere near his accomplishments," said Pierce, talking about Bird.
Pierce didn't become a Celtics legend Tuesday night, as many have said. He'd already done plenty to earn that distinction. Whether or not he ever intended to pass Bird, Pierce has carved out his legend through 13 sometimes tumultuous, sometimes euphoric seasons in Boston. His 13 seasons have been marked by incredible durability, consistent scoring, and loyalty to the same franchise in an age when that's considered a bad thing.
Defining his legacy is not easy.
Perhaps more than with any other Boston athlete in recent memory, even diehards have a difficult time tying a pretty bow around Pierce's Place in Celtics lore. Unique circumstances have worked for and against Pierce in his Celtics career. Some have done both. Four stand out:
-- He's played his entire career here.
-- He's unorthodox
-- He's been the best player on a lot of bad teams. He's stepped back a bit to blend in with a few very, very good teams.
-- He won a championship, but only after the arrivals of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
It's all helped -- and it's all hurt -- Pierce's legacy in some way. Take the first bullet point. Celtics fans who've watched Pierce since his rookie season in 1998 have seen just how dominant he can be. Those insiders have appreciated his contributions, but they're also likely to take them for granted. Pierce has always been ours. Like with an ex-girlfriend, you miss some people the most only after they've left. For a few years, Pierce's loyalty to the Celtics seemed to some like an admission of losing. It seemed, at times, misguided.
"You knew eventually it would turn around," Pierce said of his losing years with the Celtics. "I’ve just always been the optimist, just knowing eventually, 'The next year, the next year'. That’s what I always kept saying to myself, that it would eventually turn around."
