Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ former rival — Paul Pierce — suggested that the 38-year-old will score around 6,000 more points in his NBA career before he retires.
“He gon’ finish with more than that,” Pierce said after co-host Kevin Garnett suggested that James will finish with 41,000 points. “How many he got now? … Yeah, he gon’ end up with like 45,000.”
The future Hall of Famer currently has 39,257 points.
James and Pierce faced off against each other numerous times throughout their careers. Pierce got the best of James the first two times they faced off in the playoffs. The Boston Celtics eliminated James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games in the second round of the 2008 playoffs and in six games in the second round of the 2010 playoffs.
But once James left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, he began to stack up playoff series wins against Pierce. First, James and the Heat eliminated Pierce’s Celtics in five games in the second round of the 2011 playoffs. Then the following year, the Heat sent Pierce and the Celtics home in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The last time that Pierce and James crossed paths in the playoffs came in 2014, when Pierce was long in the tooth and a member of the Brooklyn Nets. The Heat made quick work of Brooklyn, taking care of business in five games.
It’s technically possible that James will indeed score around 6,000 more points before his career is all said and done. After all, he is averaging a whopping 25.2 points per game with the Lakers so far during the 2023-24 regular season and remains one of the best scorers in the NBA today.
But in order for James to score that many more points, he will likely have to stick around in the NBA for a good while longer.
It’s nice to see that Pierce is still able to praise James and his greatness despite the fact that he came up short against the 19-time All-Star in the playoffs time and time again.
James and the Lakers will take on the New York Knicks at home on Dec. 18. The Knicks earned a 17-point victory in their most recent game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
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