NBA: Celtics to retire Paul Pierce’s jersey next season
Paul Pierce (34) bends down to kiss the Boston Celtics logo following an NBA basketball game on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Boston. AP Photo/Steven Senne
The Boston Celtics franchise paraded a string of legendary players through the years, from Bill Russell to Larry Bird to Robert Parish, among others.
But perhaps nobody embodied the Celtic Green in the modern era more than recently retired forward Paul Pierce.
The team’s co-owner, Steve Pagliuca, confirmed that the team will hold Pierce’s much-deserved jersey retirement ceremony sometime in the 2017-2018 NBA campaign.
“It’s going to be fantastic,” the executive told the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
“For our era, the most recent era, he embodied the Celtics’ leadership, the Celtics’ brand and was the MVP of the championship team. So it’s going to be fantastic to see that happen.”
Last July, the team inked the 39-year-old forward to a one-day contract so he could walk away from the sport as a member of the franchise.
READ: Celtics ink Paul Pierce to one-day contract
Known best for his moniker “The Truth,” Pierce wore number 34 throughout his first 15 seasons as a Celtic, culminated by an NBA title and NBA Finals MVP award in 2008.
He left the team in 2013 to join the Brooklyn Nets, followed by a one-year stint with the Washington Wizards a year after. His quest for another title led to a reunion with former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers ofthe Los Angeles Clippers for the past two seasons.
Pierce was a 10-time All-Star in Beantown and held career averages of 21.8 points, six rebounds and 3.9 assists while donning the Celtic colors. Khristian Ibarrola /ra
