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Two lines from the SLAM 59 Paul Pierce cover story sum him up better than any stat sheet: “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.’”
That issue landed in April of 2002, just after Pierce made his first All-Star Game. His fourth season turned out to be his best to that point. He finished the year leading the League in total points scored, and he put up 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals across 40 minutes a night.
The wins mattered more than the numbers. Boston had won only 19 games during Pierce’s rookie year; by ‘01-’02 the Celtics were a different team. That season brought 49 wins, the third seed in the East and a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Plenty of credit goes to Employee Number 8, yet The Truth is the one who set the franchise free.
Beantown had been through rough years before he arrived. Two players tragically passed away, the Legend retired, and the steady stream of wins fans had known for decades dried up. Then came a slow-footed, loud-mouthed small forward with unlimited self-belief. After that disastrous debut season, his scoring climbed by three points from year one to year two and by six from year two to year three, while the Cs went from 35 wins to 36.
By ‘02 Pierce was delivering on the potential he showed at Kansas, where he left as one of the top-five all-time Jayhawks scorers, and again in the ‘99 ROY race. SLAM 59 confirmed it: he really could do everything.
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