Larry Bird is about to be moved down a notch in the storied annals of Celtics history.
Paul Pierce needs just 10 more points to become the second-leading scorer in Boston's franchise history. Bird has held that spot for nearly 24 years, since passing Bob Cousy on February 22, 1988.
“It means I’ve been in a Celtic uniform for a long time," said Pierce when asked by the Fall River Herald News what moving into second place will mean. "That’s something that doesn’t happen in this day and age ... I’ve been fortunate to be able to play with one franchise for my whole career to date. You don’t really see that too much any more. You’ve got a few guys still doing it, but it’s a rarity. It’s pretty much extinct. It’s great to be amongst some of the best who ever played the game."
Since the Celtics have played better of late, Pierce can rest a little easier, with his name not being mentioned as much in trade speculation. As for being among the all-time greats in Celtics history? That wasn't part of the master scheme.
The ironic part of the story is that it has been well-documented that as a child, Pierce (who grew up just streets away from the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.) cheered for the Lakers.
"I didn’t plan on having any records when I got here," Pierce said. "When you get here, first you learn about the history of the Celtics because as a kid, I didn’t really know much other than they were one of the great teams. I was a Laker fan, obviously. People know this. But once you are engulfed in the history of it and understand what being a Celtic is all about and understanding what Larry did for the franchise and Bill Russell and the John Havlicek, you come to really appreciate where you’ve come and what it really means when you’re mentioned among those people."
Passing Larry Legend is impressive, but Pierce is also in his 14th season and has played almost 100 more games than Bird, who scored 21,791 points during his 13 seasons in The Hub. Bird still leads the Celtics in points per game (24.3), while Pierce is second in that category.
It's highly unlikely Pierce will catch John Havlicek, who remains the Boston Celtics' all-time leading scorer with 26,395 points during his Hall of Fame career.
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