Paul Pierce receives praise around the NBA as his career comes to an end
It may not have ended the way he wanted it to, but Paul Pierce's career came to an end last night after the Utah Jazz eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers from the playoffs.
Pierce announced in September that the 2016-17 season - the 19th of his career - would be his last. He hasn't contributed too much on the court for the Clippers this year, but it was nice that the veteran actually got some playing time in his final NBA game. And it wasn't even garbage time! Los Angeles was down by 18 in the third quarter with their season on the line when Pierce was in the game and finished an and-one take to the hoop:
Paul Pierce got the final three points of his 19-year career the hard way pic.twitter.com/9W4MQ1BfLU— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 30, 2017
And just like that - 19 years, 1,343 games, 45,8979 minutes, and 26,395 points later - it was over:
Farewell to a legend.@paulpierce34 walks off. pic.twitter.com/lR7JcW2mNR— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) April 30, 2017
THANKU TO ALL MY NBA BROTHERS AND SISTERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GAME A GAME IVE LOVED MY WHOLE LIFE BUT NOW TEADY FOR A NEW CHAPTER STAY TUNED— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) May 1, 2017
Can't leave my Boston fans out Thanku the ride was unreal 😍😍😍😍love y'all forever— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) May 1, 2017
Truly an amazing career for a Celtics legend. Many NBA greats took to Twitter to show love for the Truth. Pierce and Kobe shared a great rivalry through the '00s, but real recognize real:
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 30, 2017
Of course Kevin Garnett praised his former teammate:
— KG's Area 21 (@KGArea21) April 30, 2017
So much can be said about what the Truth did for the Boston Celtics and the NBA as a whole, but The Player's Tribune did a great job of summing it up:
Farewell to The Truth. pic.twitter.com/vskkO1qZJL— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) April 30, 2017
So long, Paul.
Follow Erik Johnson on Twitter: @erikjohnson32
Photo by AP Photo/Steven Senne
