Miami Heat: LeBron James not a top 5 player according to Paul Pierce

The Miami Heat’s forever enemy is Paul Pierce. Not only has he trashed the Big 3 & said he was better than Dwyane Wade, but he’s now obviously gone blind.

The Miami Heat are used to being doubted, discounted, and unappreciated. It’s almost like a badge of honor at this point in Miami.

If everyone likes you, then you’re doing something wrong. Although respected by almost everyone at this point in his career, this seemed to be the motto that Miami Heat great, Udonis Haslem, has lived and operated by in the NBA.

While he isn’t quite the Miami Heat lifer that UD is and has been, LeBron James embraced this concept upon arrival in Miami as well. Almost too well throughout his first season or so with the Heat and to the point where he started to almost become the villan of the league.

Well, he might have actually become that, but two championships and a ton of exposure later, he was back to being the big freaky athlete with the infectious smile that everyone loves to love. Well, not quite everyone.

Former NBA great and current basketball analyst for ESPN, Paul Pierce, makes a habit out of disrespecting the Miami Heat, their legends, the Big 3 era, and yes, LeBron James. He recently stuck his foot in his mouth again. Here is what The Truth had to say on Wednesday on an ESPN appearance, per the Twitter account of NBACentral.

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1263128707931217920

He lists Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan specifically as references to try and make his point, the one where he says that LeBron James isn’t a top 5 player of all time. Note and forgive fellow ESPN analyst Jay Williams‘s reaction. He represents us all after hearing such an asinine take.

While the players that Pierce noted are all great and in fact, all top 10 players that the league has ever seen, only one of them is better than LeBron. As far as the big men go on this list, Timmy D, Kareem, and Bill Russell, they’ll never surpass any player that has their credentials, highlights, while also having had the opportunity to have the ball directly in his hands as much as any guard or wing does.

Their impact on their team winning will always be perceived as greater than any big. It’s always been that way and always will. Wings and guards are sexy, while big men don’t catch the eye as much. That shouldn’t be apart of it all, but it is.

When looking at the rest of those names, the only one that rightfully goes above Bron is Michael Jordan. Kobe wasn’t as good as Larry Bird or Magic Johnson, while they would both admit that LeBron is better. I could make the cases here, which I may in the future, but why so when the people in question have at some point or will readily admit at this moment that LeBron James is just on another level.

All in all, Paul Pierce needs to give it up. Whatever axe he has to grind with the Miami Heat and those that have been affiliated, please get this man some help. He’s probably still not over the demolishing defeats that he took at their hands or perhaps even the Ray Allen thing, but either way, he’s flat out wrong here, again.

It’s such a shame that a guy nicknamed The Truth has to lie so much. We said what we said.