If Boston Celtics forward icon Paul Pierce has always seemed a little gangster on the court, it’s no accident — in fact, according to a story he told former teammate and host of the “Opinionated 7-Footers” podcast Ryan Hollins, that mentality dates all the way back to his time in Englewood.
“I tell this story all the time,” he began with a grin.
“There’s this park in Inglewood,” elaborated Pierce. “It’s in the cut, called Ash Park. I lived in these apartments, and I used to go there like every Saturday. And all they have up there was Mexicans, right?”
“So that’s all that was up there, and they used to play ball. So I started playing with them. And all they did was foul.”
“I was the only Black kid. I’m telling you, playing against all Mexicans … but they [were] my peeps. Always go up there and get fouled, get fouled and I’ve got to be tough. I said ‘I’m going to just go up here every Saturday.’ They really don’t know how to play basketball, they’re just out here getting the workout hooping, and I was like ‘Damn’.”
“When I look back at all that, all that kind of like molded me into this just grind-it-out type of player, going through the hood, playing against the hood, against the gangsters,” added The Truth.
WATCH: Boston Celtic icon Paul Pierce’s top 5 poker hands https://t.co/y7MJOs6IvK
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 8, 2020
If you haven’t checked out Hollins’ podcast he produces with fellow former NBAer Brendan Haywood, this is a great episode to do so.
Pierce has an hour of stories like this about his time at Kansas, his early years in the league, and how the “Big Three” of himself, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett came about from his perspective.
This episode a treasure trove of tales from Pierce’s years in Boston, and you miss it at your own peril.
