NBA champion and Boston Celtics icon Paul Pierce manned up and apologized to Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks after losing his bet that they would not come out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Brunson and the Knicks disposed of the Philadelphia 76ers in six games to advance.
“First off, I like to say sorry to the Knicks and Jalen Brunson because I’ve shown them no respect,” Pierce said on “Undisputed” on May 3. “But after this [first-round win], my hat off to them. I didn’t see this coming Skip (Bayless), I really didn’t. When I looked at the series before it started, I thought Philadelphia just had too much manpower for the short-handed Knicks.”
Even without three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle and center Mitchell Robinson limping his way to finish the series, the Knicks had enough.
“Did I know that Jalen Brunson was going to play well,” Pierce continued. “I thought he would play well. I didn’t know he was going to play this well.”
Jalen Brunson Proves Paul Pierce Wrong
Pierce pegged last season’s MVP Joel Embiid and this year’s Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey as the two best players with Brunson as the third-best in the series before it started.
Brunson proved him wrong.
The Knicks All-Star point guard just became the first NBA player to score 39-plus points in four straight playoff games since Michael Jordan in 1993 capping off their first round win with 41 points in Game 6.
“I’m still stunned,” Pierce said, “truthfully that a guy like Jalen Brunson who’s had a great year, phenomenal year should be on the All-NBA First Team arguably. You can make a case for that right now. Jalen Brunson is probably the most dominant player, he’s the best player in the playoffs right now. I mean not the best player but he’s playing the best.”
Pierce, nicknamed “The Truth” finally accepted the truth that will forever be part of the Knicks lore.
It was not only Brunson who earned Pierce’s great respect but also Tom Thibodeau, who coached him in Boston during their title run in 2008.
“The Knicks should have had more consideration for Coach of the Year for Coach Thibodeau because he’s been doing this all year short-handed,” Pierce said.
Thibodeau finished fifth in the NBA Coach of the Year race won by Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault.
Paul Pierce Makes Jalen Brunson Comparison
The Knicks playoff run with 6-foot-2 Brunson reminds Pierce of the Celtics’ Eastern Conference Finals march in 2017 with also a small point guard.
“Just when you just didn’t think a little guy at his stature can do it, he’s continued to do it,” Pierces said. “So they’re going to ride his coattails. He reminds me of when Isaiah Thomas was in Boston. Remember that ride he had? They rode that to the Eastern Conference Finals and he just put on the show. A short guy you just didn’t believe. Lefty, same thing. It reminded me of that.”
But unlike the 5-foot-9 Thomas, who became a one-season wonder after a hip injury, Brunson is more durable and has been doing this in the playoffs for three consecutive seasons dating back to his last year with the Mavericks. And Brunson also plays bigger than his size with his nifty footwork.
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NBA Champion Issues Apology to Jalen Brunson, Knicks