Before Paul Pierce arrived in the TD Garden for the final time in his NBA career, the Boston Celtics had already put together a tribute in the form of a headband giveaway for those in attendance. It isn’t exactly commonplace to see an opposing player garner that kind of respect and admiration from a former team, but Pierce is a legend for arguably the league’s flagship franchise and the organization paid it forward with that gesture.
The Celtics weren’t done, though, and the Clippers provided ammunition by electing to insert Pierce into the starting lineup. Prior to tip-off, Pierce was announced with the starters for Los Angeles and he was met with the thunderous welcome from the assembled crowd, including a throwback introduction from the public address announcer.
This is a moment pic.twitter.com/TL2MIVJdHI
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) February 5, 2017
Before Pierce even took the court, it was quite clear what the moment meant for him, and the ABC broadcast captured a bit of his emotional state before tip-off.
https://twitter.com/FanSportsClips/status/828323460891897858
It was also plain to see that Pierce’s current teammates were happy to provide their veteran forward with the spotlight and the entire pregame scene was truly a sight to behold. However, both the Celtics and the crowd had one more trick up their sleeve and it came in the form of a tribute video playing during the first extended timeout. Following the tribute, Pierce had an emotional and heartfelt reaction.
https://twitter.com/FanSportsClips/status/828322014280552449
At this point in his lengthy NBA career, Pierce is merely an auxiliary piece of the playoff-bound Clippers, to the point where he had not appeared in a game since Dec. 31 before starting on Sunday afternoon. For a few moments, though, that did not matter in the slightest, as one of the great Celtics of all-time was greeted with a response fit for a king and it was both appropriate and moving.
