In a recent appearance on It Is What It Is, Paul Pierce took aim at his longtime rival, Dwyane Wade. “My skills went unappreciated because I didn’t get to play with a lot of great players," Pierce told Cam'ron and Ma$e when discussing the lack of consistent success in his long NBA career. Furthermore, Pierce said that if his "Big Three" with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen had come together sooner, he would have multiple NBA rings. This of course was widely taken as a knock against Wade and the implication that Wade's success came from his partnership with LeBron and Chris Bosh.
It's hard to put up a 1-to-1 comparison of the two players, namely because they didn't play the same position. However, Wade is widely considered the better play. He put up better points and assists per game as well as being the better shooter. Of course, Pierce had a three-point shot that Wade didn't. However, at the end of the day, they are both Hall of Fame players with iconic careers. Wade just happens to have more rings than Pierce. Furthermore, instead of re-igniting a mostly dormant beef, Wade just found Pierce's new comments kind of amusing.
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Wade Takes A Playful Jab At Pierce
"Rent's expensive in America and I'm living rent-free," Wade told The Dan Le Batard Show. "This is why I love the media. It's documented. I don't need to say anything, everything is documented. I'll just let y'all talk about all that, it sounds better from y'all anyway. I'm done playing the game of basketball, I'm not comparing myself to someone who's playing the game or not playing the game. That's not my challenge anymore...I went and got my Avengers. And everybody was mad that I got to play with different guys."
Of course, Paul Pierce isn't the only person who has been talking a little bit of trash about Wade. Fellow 2023 Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki also opened up about Wade in a recent interview. “I wouldn’t say we’re friends,” the Mavs icon said. “I think there’s a mutual sense of respect for each other’s career and obviously were cordial. There’s no bad blood, obviously, anymore. We all moved on, things were said on both sides or done that neither side liked, but that’s part of competition at the highest level.”
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