The infamous rivalry between the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics has always extended to the players themselves. We saw Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. And following these two greats, other players were also pitted against one another. One such rival duo is Paul Pierce and Metta World Peace. The two have always held each other in high regard, and their rivalry has been equally fierce. Even after all these years, the Boston Celtics legend acknowledges it. 

Speaking about nemesis in the latest episode of KG Certified, the 10X NBA All-Star admitted that the former Lakers star was indeed his rival. Pierce didn’t hesitate to agree that the two had experienced quite a few heated exchanges over the years. “My other Nemesis was Metta World Peace too… I used to be like, ‘we going at it… we going at it homie, you’re the best defensive player, you going to get buckets tonight. something happening, fireworks,”‘ Pierce recalls. 

Both were explosive players who hated losing to each other. They have delivered some of the most entertaining games in the process, including the 2010 championship, where Artest’s clutch three-pointer would seal the deal for the Lakers. World Peace would later admit he was worried about Game 7, because his “good friend,” Pierce used to get in his head and trash talk would only ever end in ejection for him. His sports psychologist even had to fly down to discuss this. 

However, the two seemingly share a great friendship now.

“But now we cool. Now we always respected because I always see him in the Summer cuz we always play pickup. It was always respect, always love too. But it didn’t look like we liked each other where we played against each other,” Pierce said.

Well, it certainly didn’t.

It wasn’t just nail-biting moments between the two. It was the antics or the dirty tricks the two pulled to triumph over the other. One such instance occurred when Metta World Peace, then playing for the Indiana Pacers, pulled down Pierce’s pants during a 2005 matchup. 

As his role as a defensive player, MWP was given the responsibility of handling Pierce. When none of his usual tactics worked on The Truth, Metta resorted to this unusual move, hoping to annoy Pierce without getting ejected.

What was the dirty play by Paul Pierce?

However, it backfired. Even with him holding his shorts to stop it from going further down from his waist, he confidently hit a 3-pointer.

“I figured that was the best thing I could do, no tech, and he still hit the three. Oh my goodness. With his shorts down, unbelievable,” MWP said of Pierce. This was just one of several intense encounters between the two.

Pierce was equally competitive. Games were intense back in those days and the Celtics legend once proved it as he ended up breaking Metta World Peace’s tooth. This incident happened a year before the pants-pulling move. It was during a matchup in 2004 when, as Metta was defending Pierce, the Celtics star accidentally broke his tooth. “He [Pierce] actually broke my tooth. He pushed my head on the floor one time and my tooth came out in Boston…He’s a little dirty too,” MWP said on Podcast P with Paul George.

Over their careers, the two faced off in 44 games. While Metta World Peace boasts of winning 24 of those matchups, Pierce holds the overall lead by winning the rest. Both players have admitted that it was never personal. Their rivalry stemmed from their fierce competitiveness. However, they always maintained mutual respect for each other.