Ardent NBA fans know about the infamous wheelchair controversy. In 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Boston Celtics. The storied rivalry was front and center during the NBA finals. During Game 1, an essential member of the Boston squad was wheel-chaired into the locker room. Even more spectacularly, he walked out just minutes later.
On his former teammate’s podcast just a few months ago, The Truth has not changed his stance on the wheel-chair controversy.
Celtics legend opens up on the wheelchair controversy
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The Truth?felt it was time to finally clear out all the speculation regarding the famous ‘wheelchair’ incident. The #34 once admitted that he just had to use the bathroom. Though he later changed his stance, his former teammate was not having any of that as he took a sarcastic dig at Pierce. In an exclusive interview for KG’s YouTube podcast, Paul Pierce sat alongside the Boston Celtics stars: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
The 2008 NBA Champion clarified, “I sprained my MCL, Don’t believe all the rumors that I had to go to the bathroom.” To this, KG hilariously responded, “What rumors?”
Pierce stuck to his story regardless of KG’s sarcastic questions and explained his side.
“Everybody was talking about I had to take a s**t. Get the f*ck outta here… You act like you can’t play on an MCL?you ain’t never did that?… What do you think I’m holding my knee for? The doctor told me to put no weight on it, so they carried me. I didn’t say go get the wheelchair!”
One could sense the tension in the room when Pierce was aggressively defending himself.
Pierce’s “violent” nature was exposed
Iman Shumpert was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2011. He also featured on the 2015-16 Cavaliers side that won LeBron James his third championship. On Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, Shumpert talked about Pierce’s trash-talking when he faced off against the Knicks.
He said that Paul Pierce would be “violent” and disrespectful when hazing the young NBA players.
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However, Iman also sees it as something that motivated and helped him become a better player. Shumpert goes on to say that “I will always love him for that.”
He also said that whenever they played against the Celtics, he always brought his best game in terms of trash talk and aggression because he knew there would be a lot from the Boston side, especially Paul Pierce. Looking back at the Boston legend’s undeniable journey, it is obvious he was an undeniable shooting machine during his prime and had gathered an immense amount of respect by the time he retired in 2017.
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Despite?The Truth’s controversial exit from ESPN, one cannot deny the impact Paul Pierce has had on Boston basketball.
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