"We had some tough battles" - Paul Pierce thinks LeBron James might have voted for him as GOAT

paul-pierce–lebron-james

Earlier this week, The Athletic published its annual players’ survey, and one of the questions was, “Who’s the greatest player of all time?” While most answered the usual suspects, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, Paul Pierce received a vote from one of the 133 anonymous respondents.

The result has understandably raised many eyebrows and led to a manhunt for the person who wrote Pierce’s name on his ballot. However, the retired NBA legend thinks the search is over because he thinks James voted for him.

James met Pierce in his prime

Pierce might have a point because James is the only active player to have figured in heated on-court battles with him during his prime. In fact, the current and future Hall of Famers met on the floor 69 times, with Paul winning more in the regular season and LeBron having a better record in the playoffs.

The first time they faced off in the postseason was in the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals when the Boston Celtics matched up with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series went the distance and gave the fans a riveting duel between Pierce and James in the final contest.

While the four-time MVP had the upper hand in his scoring battle against his former rival 45-41, the Celtics clinched the victory to advance to the next round.

Even though they clashed many times and didn’t always see eye to eye, Pierce once said that he has always respected James, saying he wouldn’t be “The Truth” if it weren’t for Bron.

In a similar vein, facing off against Paul and the Celtics contributed to James’ evolution into one of the greatest players of all time because he had to step it up every time. So, it’s indeed possible that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar gave the nod to Pierce as a sign of respect.

Others who could have voted for Pierce

On the flip side, it’s not even clear if The Athletic was able to interview James, and he probably would have voted for himself if he was a part of the poll.

The player who chose Pierce doesn’t necessarily have to have played against him. After all, Brandon Miller has Paul George as his GOAT, and Anthony Edwards once called Kevin Durant his favorite player because the youngsters grew up idolizing the stars.

Maybe the guy who voted the 2008 NBA Finals MVP was his fan or a Celtics supporter. Research by Andy Bailey of the Bleacher Report shows that Bruce Brown, Georges Niang, and Pat Connaughton were born in Massachusetts and have identified Pierce as someone they watched or revered earlier in their lives.