"S**t on myself?" - Paul Pierce lambasts social media for fabricating 'wheelchair' game narration during 2008 NBA Finals
Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics captured a big championship win over Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers back in 2008. Despite that, and Paul Pierce winning the 2008 Finals MVP award, one of the biggest stories surrounding the team's championship win was Pierce's infamous wheelchair game. During the third quarter of game one, Pierce went down clutching his knee.
Given that, you can imagine the surprise of everyone in attendance, and those watching at home when Pierce checked back into the game just two minutes later. Not only that, he came back to play the rest of the game, and the rest of the series.
While he has maintained that he decided he would be able to play through the pain, fans have theorized he defacated himself on the court. During a recent video for his new video series The Truth Lounge as part of the All The Smoke network, the Hall of Famer opened up about the situation:
"I'm telling you, my adrenaline is flowing. Ain't no way I want to miss. If I wasn't limping, I was like, I can do it. ... I have a high threshold for pain, by the way. I was stabbed eleven times and came back that same season to play in all 82 games. A high threshold for pain. So, yes, it was painful, and I was not faking an injury."
... "If I had to go to the bathroom or shit on myself, you think it would only take two minutes? Come on now. Come on now. Let's be frill. it take two minutes for me to change my shorts, my undershorts, wipe my ass, get a wet towel, dry off, shower, put some new stuff on, and go back out there?"
Looking further at the injury and comeback of Paul Pierce
Over the years Paul Pierce has made it clear that he never had any sort of stomach cramps during the finals. At the same time, he's also maintained that he never defacated himself, despite what fans may think. With that in mind, let's go back and take a look at what happened in game one of the 2008 finals.
The scene unfolded with Pierce appearing to be in agonizing pain, while teammates and staff members gathered around him. Ultimately, the ten-time All-Star appeared unable to get off the court under his own power, resulting in members of the team, and staff, carrying him off the court.
Footage then showed Pierce being wheeled to the locker room in a wheelchair, clutching at his knee. While there was serious concern that Pierce was going to be out for the rest of the finals, or maybe even perhaps much of the following season, that wasn't the case.
Moments after being carried off to the locker room, Pierce re-emerged, walking down the tunnel and entering the stadium looking ready to go. Fans and viewers in attendance couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Paul Pierce preparing to check back into the game, limp-free after such a heart-stopping injury? It seemed unbelievable. With a knee brace on, Pierce hit two threes in under 30 seconds, helping fuel the Celtics to a big victory.