Former KU, Celtics great Paul Pierce welcomed ‘home’ for Hall of Fame news conference
Paul Pierce walked onto the stage at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut for Friday’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 news conference dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants.
Pierce, the 43-year-old former University of Kansas and Boston Celtics standout forward, who will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame with 15 other individuals at 6 p.m. Central time Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts, joked that he’d have “worn something different” if he knew the emcee of the event would be donning a dress shirt, sportscoat and slacks.
“You’re at home. This is New England. You’re fine,” the welcoming emcee told Pierce, who after breaking into a big smile, proceeded to answer a handful of questions for approximately 10 minutes.
With Friday’s proceedings just 110 miles from Boston, it comes as no surprise all of the questions involved Pierce’s 19-year NBA career rather than his three campaigns at KU.
Pierce did mention Kansas during a response to the first question, presented by the emcee: “What does your time with the Celtics mean to you as well as joining a long list of Hall of Famers from Boston?”
“Really to be part of a major tradition … when I look back to how (upset) I was to slip in the draft, to end up at such a traditional franchise, coming from Kansas which was the same way, I couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Pierce, a 6-foot-7 native of Inglewood, California who was selected No. 10 in the 1998 NBA Draft.
“I could have ended up in Vancouver (at No. 2). Nothing against these other franchises, but Boston is different. We all know this. When you talk about iconic sports franchises, you are talking Boston, you are talking the (Los Angeles) Lakers, you are talking the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys across the board.
“I couldn’t ask for a better place to live,” he added of Boston. “I didn’t know what to think every time, didn’t understand the tradition at first. Going into it, I hated them because I was a Laker fan (growing up), but once I was able to join the family and be around (former Celtics) players such as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn on a night in, night out basis, it was a dream come true. Me being a historian of the game — (being around) Red Auerbach — I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Pierce acknowledged the highlight of his career was winning NBA Finals MVP honors in 2008 when Boston defeated the Lakers in six games for the title.
“It was so special to me because I remember when I grabbed the trophy I yelled as loud as I could,” Pierce said. “That was for all the pain and all the hard work and dedication I put in the sport just for that one moment.
“It was like a flashback of all the line drills, the waking up at 5 in the morning, the hardships you go through for that one moment. It’s a special moment when you stand on top of the mountain, hold that (championship) trophy up because your whole life you worked your butt off for it.”
Pierce’s Celtics finished runnerup to the Lakers in 2010 giving him one title for his career. His KU teams reached the Elite Eight his freshman year, the Sweet 16 his sophomore season and lost in the second round his junior year.
“Some of us are able to achieve more than one, some of us never achieve it,” Pierce said. “I’m happy to be able to achieve it that one time. The crazy part is when I hear when you do it once people are like, ‘You didn’t do it again.’ It doesn’t matter. I was able to get there. I’m happy.”
Pierce will be inducted Saturday in a class that includes Val Ackerman, Rick Adelman, Chris Bosh, Bob Dandridge, the late Cotton Fitzsimmons, Howard Garfinkel, Yolanda Griffith, Lauren Jackson, Clarence Jenkins, Toni Kukoc, Pearl Moore, Bill Russell (as a coach), Ben Wallace, Chris Webber and Jay Wright.
Pierce, who played at KU from 1995-98, will be introduced by former Celtics great Kevin Garnett. Wallace will be introduced by former KU coach Larry Brown.
