Over the years, several NBA athletes have had lucrative careers on television. While there are some who have been fan favorites from day one, others have faced minor roadblocks along the way. One of the most refreshing qualities that is deemed fit for TV is whether the individual is funny or not. This is the reason why legends like Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley have remained relevant after decades.

However, there is one more individual who is considered to be funny but had a rather shocking end to his first stint on TV. The Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce used to work for ESPN, but an infamous Instagram Live session brought his career to an abrupt end. Recently, another ex-NBA star recalled Pierce’s stint on TV, and being called ugly by the Celtics legend.

Paul Pierce’s “ugly” comment

The Truth, as he was affectionately called, was actually a nickname bestowed on him by Shaq. Pierce had a unique style of playing and had footwork and physicality that wasn’t known to many. Based on his skills, he played in the NBA from 1998 to 2017 and spent the majority of that time with the Celtics. Post his retirement, Pierce decided to follow in the footsteps of some other veterans and started a career on TV. Soon enough, he started getting appreciation from fans for his unfiltered and blunt takes.

Jeff Teague was recently on the Club 520 Podcast where talked about Pierce. He said that Pierce was one of the funniest people on sports TV and that he should make a comeback. Teague said that he has so many memories of the 46-year-old being a hilarious individual and that he had all the ingredients to be a perfect fit on TV. Recalling one of the instances with Pierce, he said that when Teague and his brother were playing against one another, the Celtics legend dropped in to check. Teague said, “he was like, both of y’all…ugly“.

At one time, Pierce had a progressing career on TV, but one Instagram live took it all away from him.

Pierce’s infamous Instagram live

In April 2021, the NBA veteran started an Instagram live session. What seemed like a regular poker session with some of his friends soon turned into something else. Pierce was seen with scantily clad dancers in the background while he was drinking and smoking. The major issue in all of this was the ignorance of Covid protocols during that time.

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Soon after the session went viral, ESPN announced that they had parted ways with the Celtics legend. Pierce has addressed the issue several times after that and has said that he has no regrets about doing it.

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