“You would have two of the slowest players at their position getting buckets” - Paul Pierce on wanting to team up with Dirk Nowitzki
Paul Pierce joined Gilbert Arenas on Monday’s episode of “No Chill”. During the conversation, Pierce gave insight into him wanting to team up with Dirk Nowitzki in the past.
Pierce explains:
“That would have been nasty, oh man, you would have two of the slowest players at their position getting buckets.”
Paul Pierce played 19 seasons in the NBA, most of which were dedicated to the Celtics (1998-2013). He was chosen by Boston with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft.
Pierce went on to become the captain of the Celtics, earning 10 All-Star selections, becoming a four-time All NBA member, and the 2008 NBA Finals MVP. He joined the NBA 75th Anniversary team this year, being honoured as one of the greatest players of all time.
Pierce elaborates further on almost playing with Dirk:
“At the time, the Mavs was pushing the button. They was winning 50 games every year, it was that team that was, like, they needed one more player I felt like getting them over the top cause Dirk was Dirk and I was like, shit, they gonna be there, they get that one dude and I was like, I think I could be that dude."
"So, I wanted to meet up with Mark Cuban, it never happened, you know, I was pushing the front office, like, my agent, like, if I go anywhere, give me the Dallas.”
Dirk Nowitzki, the only player to play for a single franchise for 21 seasons (Dallas Mavericks), never stopped making waves in his game. He is a 14x NBA All-Star, a 12x All-NBA selection, and is the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history. Nowitzki won a solitary championship in 2011.
During his 21 seasons playing for the Mavericks, Dirk averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. He shot 38.0% from the 3-point mark, as he was notoriously known for draining from deep.
Paul Pierce, on the other hand, averaged 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists during his time in the league. Both players holding close to 20.0 point averages would have made them very dangerous together.
Not to mention when we think back now that we know what kind of players they were alone. Can one imagine the danger of having Pierce and Nowitzki on the same lineup? Paul is correct when he said “it would have been nasty”.