Paul Pierce Reveals His Biggest Disappointments After Getting Drafted: Michael Jordan And Lakers' Forum

Paul Pierce is one of the few players who can claim they have played with both Michael Jordan and LeBron James in their career. But by the time Pierce was drafted to the NBA, Jordan had already retired for the second time in 1998. 

Therefore, Pierce only faced Jordan when he came back to play for the Washington Wizards in 2001. Pierce appeared on the latest episode of NFL legend Julian Edelman's podcast "Games with Names," where he rewatched a career-defining game from 2008 when the Boston Celtics faced LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. 

When Edelman asked him about the best NBA game of all time, Pierce transitioned from talking about James to talking about Michael Jordan's final game in a Chicago Bulls uniform, against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals. He made an eye-opening claim about his biggest regrets right after getting drafted during this conversation. 

Pierce: “The greatest game to me all time was probably uh Jordan versus Utah when he hit the game winner.”

Edelman: “Was it a push-off, though?”

Pierce: “Nah! It was a good move!”

Edelman: “Who was that on?”

Pierce: “Brian Russell.”

Pierce: “Yeah, that was to me the greatest game.”

Edelman: “I remember that. That was the last one, right?”

Pierce: “Yeah, that was his last one in a Bulls uniform.” 

Edelman: “And then went, chilled for what four years? And then Mike went to Washington when he bought the team.”

Pierce: “Yep. He went to Washington. That's when I got to play against him, cuz he retired the year I came in. Yeah. So it was a couple of things that happened when I came into the league. Jordan retired, and the Lakers moved out of the Forum to the Staples.”

“I wanted to play in the Forum growing up, going to the Forum, living down the street from the Forum. That was like my two biggest disappointments after getting drafted, not being able to play in the Forum and not playing against Jordan, Bulls Jordan.”

Edelman: “You played against Jordan, though.”

Pierce: “But I played against him in Washington.”

Edelman: “How was he?”

Pierce: “I mean, it wasn't the same, you know. He wasn't he didn't have that mystique. He didn't have that.”

Edelman: “He probably just didn't have the athleticism.”

Pierce: “No, he didn't have the athleticism. No, but because Bulls Jordan was like scary. I felt like I was on the same level as Jordan in Washington, you know, as a young kid.”

“But he was still Jordan. You still looked at him like Jordan. He just didn't have that bounce.”

Pierce's experience clearly shows that Jordan was a fraction of himself when he returned to play for the Wizards in 2001. In the two seasons he played there, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists, which is a fraction of his averages for the Bulls (31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in 13 seasons).   

Additionally, the Los Angeles Lakers left the Forum in 1999 for the Staples Center (now known as the Crypto.com Arena) after spending 33 years in that arena. Pierce grew up in Oakland, California, and found motivation in his basketball career from his desire to play at the Forum. 

Therefore, when the Lakers left the Forum, Pierce lost a chance to fulfill two of his childhood dreams: playing against prime Michael Jordan and playing at the Forum.