Paul Pierce: 'I Truly Feel Responsible' for LeBron James Reaching Next Level in NBA
July 12, 2024
It's been a few weeks since Paul Pierce made himself the focus of something, so he made sure to correct that by taking credit for LeBron James reaching his peak as an NBA player.
On Friday's episode of Undisputed (h/t Awful Announcing) on FS1, Pierce said "I feel truly responsible for taking Lebron to that next level" stemming primarily from the Miami Heat's win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportPaul Pierce says he helped LeBron "get to that next level" specifically when Miami beat Boston in Game 6 of the 2012 ECF 👀<br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/undisputed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@undisputed</a>) <a href="https://t.co/tZycKBgTB8">pic.twitter.com/tZycKBgTB8</a>
There was certainly a tremendous amount of pressure on James at that point in his career. The Heat lost the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks the previous season.
James played arguably the worst game of his career, especially given the stakes, in that series against Dallas with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and four turnovers in 46 minutes in Game 4.
It remains one of only two postseason games that James has failed to score at least 10 points.
The 2012 Eastern Conference Finals were close to being another disappointing moment in James' career. The Heat were on the brink of elimination in Game 6 after dropping three straight games to the Celtics.
James responded in that game with possibly the best performance of his career. He put up 45 points on 19-of-26 shooting with 15 rebounds and five assists in a 98-79 win at TD Garden to force Game 7.
The Heat won Game 7 on the strength of James' 31-point, 12-rebound double-double. They went on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals for the first championship of James' career.
There is no denying that what James accomplished in that postseason, particularly the Game 6 against Boston, played a significant role in changing the narrative around his career. Prior to that, there were stories being written about him as a playoff choker from his failures with the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Whether that means Pierce is responsible in any way for James' ascent to becoming an all-time legend simply because he played for the Celtics at that point is very much debatable.
But Pierce is always ready and willing to praise himself. It's not every day a Basketball Hall of Famer would get busted for mistakenly using his own social media account instead of a burner to remind people he was "better than you think" as a player.