Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce stated his case as to why he wasn’t judged on the same playing field as Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade during their NBA careers.
One fan on Twitter laid out Pierce’s and Wade’s career accolades, and it’s pretty obvious that Wade has the edge, but Pierce believes he was at a disadvantage, specifically when it came to making All-NBA teams, during his career.
While both players had to go up against tough competition at their positions, the difference is that Wade landed himself on eight total All-NBA teams compared to Pierce’s four.
Pierce was a terrific player during his NBA career, posting eight different seasons where he averaged over 20 points per game. The Celtics legend is a Hall of Famer, and he was extremely important for the Celtics in forming a Big 3 of Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
That trio went on to win an NBA title together, but Wade even has the edge in that category in his career.
Wade, who won three titles with Miami, accomplished something that Pierce never did, winning an NBA title without two other costars on the roster. Wade did have Shaquille O’Neal in the 2005-06 season, but he still was the driving force for Miami’s NBA Finals win over the Dallas Mavericks.
He won the Finals MVP award in that series, averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in the six contests in the series. Wade was terrific in each of Miami’s wins, scoring at least 36 points in Games 3 through 6. The Heat erased a 2-0 series deficit to defeat Dallas in six games.
Pierce does have an NBA Finals MVP to his credit, but he did it alongside Garnett and Allen. Wade, who won two more titles with the Heat’s Big 3 of himself, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, has a little more hardware on his NBA resume.
Wade also made three All-Defensive teams in his career, something Pierce never accomplished.
As a competitor, Pierce is obviously going to put himself on the same level as Wade, and he’s pretty close with the great career that he had. However, the accolades and numbers show that the Heat legend was just a step above in his storied career.