“That’s the most subtle, gangsta s**t ever” – Former NBA player shares an epic comeback from Paul Pierce to Amar’e Stoudemire chaffing him
Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce is one of the purest scorers in the history of the NBA. During Pierce's career, he rivaled some of the great players around the association. Former New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler can attest to that.
Chandler revealed that he witnessed one of the coldest in-game trash-talking episodes from The Truth. Being in the same division as the Celtics, the two teams often had battles against each other. At the time, the Knicks had Amar'e Stoudemire as their star player.
During one game, Paul Pierce was doing his usual free-throw routine, and Stoudemire decided to take a shot at the 10-time All-Star. According to Chandler, the high-flying big man told his teammates that Pierce would miss a shot from the charity stripe. Upon hearing this, Pierce stopped his routine and took the chance to talk smack at Stoudemire.
"He looked back at Amar’e like, ‘Who you talking to? Me? You gotta be talking to Ray [Allen] or somebody," Chandler recalled, "'I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you. I only argue with Kobe's and LeBron's.'"
"I was like, 'What?' And just ran back. I was like, 'That’s the most subtle, gangsta s— ever.'"
Paul Pierce’s ‘subtle, gangsta’ response to Amar’e Stoudemire trash-talking him
"‘I only argue with Kobes and LeBrons."
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Although he has only won one ring in his entire NBA career, Pierce is one of the best offensive players in the league's history. Paul Pierce was extremely reliable in close game situations. In fact, he earned the moniker "The Truth" from Shaquille O'Neal after Pierce scored 42 points against the LA Lakers in a regular-season matchup.
Along with Chris Webber and Chris Bosh, Pierce was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year. The Celtics legend retired with one NBA title, a Finals MVP and is part of the 75th Anniversary team. His jersey number was retired by Boston.
Paul Pierce is the true king of the step-back move
The step-back is one of the most recognizable moves in the NBA right now. Before James Harden made it into his signature move, it was Paul Pierce who caught defenders off-guard with the move.
To do the step-back move, a player must have pronounced footwork. Having distinguished footwork is key to keeping game officials from calling it a traveling violation. Pierce mastered that early in his career, and it became his move to create space. But the Hall of Famer's step-back was a bit different than what players do today. Paul Pierce himself knows that he pioneered the move.
"I pioneered the step-back," Pierce said. "You got the Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] hook, the [Michael] Jordan fadeaway, the Euro-step from [Manu] Ginobili, the Paul Pierce step-back. Come on now, everbody knows that."
While no one really knows who the first player was to use the move, it was Pierce who included it in his bag of tricks. Albeit slower than other step-backs in today's league, it was lethal. He also used the move in the mid-range area, which is different to today's three-point step-backs.