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The SLAM 59 cover story on Paul Pierce opens with a pair of lines that still hold up: “Ask most people, fans or League folk why Paul Pierce is so deadly. You’ll most likely get the standard ‘because he can do everything.’”
April of 2002 is when that issue hit, right after Pierce earned his first All-Star nod. His fourth season was his best yet. He led the League in total points scored that year and averaged 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals over 40 minutes per game.
Better still, the long-suffering Celtics started winning. Pierce’s rookie season brought just 19 victories. The ‘01-’02 campaign delivered 49 wins, the third seed in the East and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Employee Number 8 deserves respect for his part, but The Truth was the one who set Boston free.
Hard times had piled up in Beantown before that turnaround. Two players tragically passed away, the Legend had retired, and the wins that had flowed for decades simply stopped. In walked a slow-footed, loud-mouthed small forward with no shortage of confidence. Once that rough debut year passed, his scoring rose by three points between years one and two, then by six between years two and three, and the Cs moved from 35 wins to 36.
The promise was obvious earlier too: he wrapped his Kansas career among the top-five all-time Jayhawks scorers and turned up in the ‘99 ROY conversation. SLAM 59 put it on the record, and this long sleeve tee carries that front cover print.
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