'Me and Ron Artest Locking Up': Paul Pierce Doesn’t Hold Back While Criticising OKC vs Pacers NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are set to face off on the biggest stage basketball has to offer: Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Both teams have delivered an impressive display of basketball throughout the series. That said, there are still a few areas where each team could have improved. Adjustments that might have given them a better edge in this tightly contested matchup.

It’s not entirely fair to constantly compare modern basketball to past eras. The game has evolved, and that’s just the natural course of things. Still, that doesn’t mean certain traits or tactics can’t transcend time.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett played in a more physical era of the NBA, one where the gritty, hard-nosed essence of the sport was front and center. That edge isn’t as prominent in today’s game. Back then, the NBA Finals often showcased the most physical basketball of the entire season, with players putting everything on the line.

That hasn’t been the case this year, and Pierce believes it’s hindering the effectiveness of each team. He also brought former star Ron Artest, better known as Metta World Peace, into the conversation to explain how they would be ‘locked in’ from the very first moment in the series. “I ain’t seeing [any chippiness] in these Finals,” Pierce said on Ticket & The Truth. “First play of the game, me and Ron Artest locking up.”

Pierce’s criticism isn’t the first time a former player has called out today’s NBA for its lack of physicality. It’s not that Pierce and Garnett want to see players getting into fights. Physicality is, in many ways, a visible expression of competitiveness. It wouldn’t hurt for either team to follow the advice of these NBA legends. Garnett, however, believes it is far too late.

“[You need to start being physical in] Game 1. The physical element is in the game,” Garnett said. But that doesn’t mean that the Thunder and Pacers haven’t been going all out against each other. “I’m seeing battles but I ain’t seeing no wars,” Pierce proclaimed.

To Pierce and Garnett, the only series that truly gave off that “war-like” intensity was the matchup between the Knicks and Pacers, alongside the Knicks vs. Pistons. That said, one thing is certain: the desperation has peaked for both the Pacers and OKC now. There’s no question that they’ll leave everything on the court tomorrow. As a result, the physicality in Game 7 might finally reach the level that Garnett and Pierce have been calling for.