"Let Lakers do that" - Paul Pierce belittles rival claiming In-Season Tournament banner would never be raised should Celtics win
Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce threw shade on the LA Lakers after sharing a piece of advice to the 2024 NBA champions. The Celtics wrapped up their 2023-24 campaign with a title, which was their goal throughout the season. Now that they have banner No. 18, Pierce advises the current roster on what the team should do if they win the In-Season Tournament.
For the Inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers to win the title. Most fans found it weird when the organization decided to hang an in-season banner next to their championship banners.
This led Pierce, who was at the TD Garden to celebrate their recent title win, to remind the team not to do the same if they win an In-Season Tournament.
"If we win the In-Season Tournament, we’re not putting up a banner. Let the Lakers do that. We can make it into a carpet and put it in the hallway or something," Pierce said. "We not putting no In-Season Tournament [banner] in there."
The Lakers won the In-Season Tournament and lost early in their postseason run. The Celtics, on the other hand, didn't reach the final stage of the In-Season Tournament. They focused on winning the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Also read: "They got their a** whopped more" - Paul Pierce counters Stephen A. Smith's Lakers vs Celtics greatest franchise claim
Miami Heat legend took a shot at Paul Pierce and the 2008 Boston Celtics title
After the Celtics won the 2008 title, the roster and the organization never stopped talking about it. They were on a mission to win back-to-back titles in 2009 but Kevin Garnett was injured for their entire postseason run. This is why Paul Pierce and the rest of the Celtics squad that won the title a year before that never stopped talking about it.
However, Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade said that the Celtics exaggerated their 2008 title. In one of the recent episodes of "A Wine Down," Wade's podcast, the NBA legend shared his honest thoughts on Boston's iconic title against the Lakers.
"You won’t see a lot of Boston Celtics 2008 that come together in one year and win a championship," Wade said. "Because ain’t no habits been built really. That’s a special year for those guys that’s why that one championship that they won feel like when they talk to you they feel like they won 12."
"Yeah you feel like when you hear Paul [Pierce] and them talking you be like 'How many championships did you win?' Yeah, shoutout to the `08 Boston Celtics. They did something special. But we stopped all that."
Wade started talking about the Celtics at the 8:14 mark.
The Celtics never won another title with their iconic Big 3 and the rise of Miami Heat's own All-Star trio started to take over.
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