Watch: Paul Pierce brings Larry O'Brien trophy decked out in Celtics starter kit to brag about Banner 18
Hall of Famer Paul Pierce and his former Celtics teammates were ecstatic for the team's 18th championship win on Monday. 16 years to the date of Pierce and Kevin Garnett's 2008 NBA Championship win, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown raised the Larry O'Brien Trophy in the TD Garden following a Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The win had been a long time coming, with the Celtics making several deep playoff runs in recent years. Despite their shortcomings in previous seasons, the team managed to put together a stellar run en route to their 18th franchise title.
The morning after the team's win, Celtics legend Paul Pierce appeared on Fox Sports 1's Undisputed show. The ten-time All-Star was decked out in all of his Celtics gear, including a varsity leather jacket, while carrying a Larry O'Brien Trophy of his own.
In addition, Pierce also brought out his 2008 championship ring for the occasion, with Keyshawn Johnson joking that Pierce appeared to have the Celtics starter kit. Of course, as is customary in the case of championship wins, Pierce also brought a cigar with him to commemorate the team's win.
Check out the clip below:
Pierce had notably stood behind the Celtics throughout the playoffs, predicting that the team would make a big run and capture their 18th title after finishing the regular season with the best record in the NBA.
Paul Pierce and other Boston Celtics legends react to team's 2024 NBA Championship win
The Boston Celtics' championship win was a long time coming for the young duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Since the pair joined forces in Boston, a championship win seemed to be their destiny, however, several setbacks had some members of the NBA community questioning them.
Analysts, such as 2008 Celtics championship team member Kendrick Perkins, were unsure of whether or not the duo would be able to win together. This fueled rumors that the front office would split up the dynamic duo, however, with their Game 5 win over the Mavericks, they have now silenced the doubters.
Perkins took to social media to react to the win:
In addition, Kevin Garnett also took to Twitter/X to react, sharing a clip of himself shouting, "Anything is possible" after the team's 2008 win while writing:
"LET'S GOOO!!!!" - @KevinGarnett5KG
Although he didn't react on social media, Celtics legend Bob Cousy explained earlier in the week to the Boston Globe just how important a Celtics win is to him. At the time, he revealed that at 95 years old, one of the last things he wants to see is the Celtics raise banner number 18.
For his part, in addition to his appearance on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday morning, Paul Pierce made a slew of posts on social media praising the Celtics for their win, as seen below:
With the Celtics being one of the most storied franchises in all of the NBA, their championship parade is sure to bring out stars both past and present.