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Sporting Chance - By Joaquin M. Henson 
9/3/00 
 
Rappin’ with Pierce 

Boston Celtics swingman Paul Pierce is extraordinarily
ordinary. He’s a National Basketball Association (NBA)
marquee player who’s just a regular guy – he likes
going to movies and hanging out with his girlfriend.
And he happens to play incredible hoops. 

Although he can’t find a locally-made Nike cap to fit
his head – the average Filipino size isn’t big, he’s
no egotist. Make no mistake about it, Pierce is a
legitimate NBA sta e it – last season, he averaged
19.5 points and 5.4 rebounds plus ranked No. 2 in the
league in steals. He played in the Rookie Challenge
game at the All-Star Weekend in Oakland last February
and led the sophomores in scoring with 18 – punctuated
by five triples. Still, he doesn’t let all that
celebrity hoopla get into his head. He’ll walk the
malls, he’ll talk to fans, and he’ll sign autographs. 

The other day, I chatted with Pierce, his girlfriend
Rebecca Brothers, and Nike’s Director for Pro
Basketball Steve Riggins for close to an hour in a
suite at the Diamond Hotel on Roxas Boulevard. He’s
here on a Nike tour. 

It wasn’t really an interview. It was more like
rapping. Pierce was easy to talk to and he’s sincerely
a nice guy with no hangups. He talks straight to the
point. 

Pierce isn’t a rising star. He’s already up there. But
something’s not right in his NBA career – he hasn’t
gone to the playoffs in two years since turning pro.
Pierce, however, is optimistic of a breakthrough this
coming season. 

"Coach Rick (Pitino) is building up," he said. "We’ve
gotten Randy Brown, Chris Carr, and John (Hot Rod)
Williams. Antoine (Walker) and I are still around.
Kenny (Anderson), too. Last season, we lost 14 games
by three points or less. We’re a shotblocking center
away from being a solid team. I think we’re ready for
the playoffs. In the East, it’s wide open. The only
teams sure of making it to the playoffs are Indiana,
New York, Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia. In the
West, I like Portland’s chances. It won’t be easy for
Los Angeles to retain the title, that’s for sure." 

Pierce said he watched the recent NBA Finals on TV but
didn’t cheer for either team despite growing up a
Lakers fan. "I’m just happy to see two teams play a
good game," he noted. 

Pierce confessed that at some point in his career,
he’d like to play even a game for the Lakers to
fulfill a boyhood dream – he grew up a few blocks from
the club’s old jaunt the Forum. But just the same, he
looked forward to a long career in Boston. 

Pierce never expected to play for the Celtics. "I
didn’t work out with coach Rick before the draft," he
related. "Coach had some kind of rep. He drives you
hard at practice. Once, seven guys were given IVs
after the first day of camp. You’ve got to be in good
shape to play his defense which is pressure from start
to finish." 

While he started out his career at small forward,
Pierce has played some two-guard, too. He’s
comfortable either way. His worst nightmare is
matching up against a much taller player like Kevin
Garnett. Or taking on Shaquille O’Neal off a switch. 

Pierce said playing his spot is a challenge. "I take
on guys like Grant Hill, Vince Carter, Mitch Richmond,
Penny Hardaway, Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller and I’m
still expected to score," he sighed. "Miller’s tough
to guard because he’s so quick and he’s always moving
around." 

Pierce renounced his last year of NCAA eligibility at
Kansas to turn pro in 1998. He still has 54 units left
to earn a degree in criminology. Pierce said he
promised his mother he’ll finish his studies. "It
won’t take too much longer – I’ve postponed going back
to school because I’ve been busy the last two
summers," he said. 

Pierce will attend Nike’s Asia 3-on-3 Finals at the
Alabang Town Center, starting 1 this afternoon. Catch
him there. 

Last year, Pierce and Shareef Abdur-Rahim toured
Taiwan for Nike. 

Pierce said he knew how big basketball is in the
Philippines because a brother Jamaal Hosey of Wyoming
played here in the 1980s. Another brother Steve played
pro baseball for the San Francisco Giants and
California Angels. 

Pierce said since the average lifetime of an NBA
player is three to five years, he might be retired in
his early 30s. In the future, he said he sees himself
in business, maybe owing a record company – he likes
listening to music but doesn’t sing – or acting in
movies – as a con artist or in a role that suits his
favorite actor Samuel Jackson. 

Pierce said his most serious injury was a sprained
ankle although his tailbone once hurt for weeks after
he was lowbridged by Rick Mahorn. 

Pierce said he’d like to improve on his defense and
develop his all-around game. He continues to work on
his three-point shot and hopes to someday win in the
NBA’s Shootout Contest, like Larry Bird. Pierce
recalled that when he was a boy, he used to shoot from
behind his mother’s parked car in the driveway where a
hoop hung on the garage door at home. He also liked to
shoot from halfcourt in the gym. All that early
training paid off – he’s undoubtedly the Celtics’ most
serious outside threat today. 

Some of Pierce’s goals are to rank in the top 10 of as
many statistical categories as possible, to play in
the All-Star Game, to take the Celtics to the playoffs
and to suit up for the US at the World Championships
or the Olympics. 

"The three greatest players ever – Michael (Jordan),
Magic (Johnson), and Bird – played on the US team at
the 1992 Olympics," he said. "I thought I’d get a
chance to play in 1996 as a college player but the NBA
sent another Dream Team. I hope someday, I’ll get a
chance to play for the US team." 

The world is just opening up for Pierce. At 22 – his
birthday, Oct. 13, is the same as mine – Pierce is
only scratching the surface of what he can do. The
sky’s the limit for the Celtics star.
 


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