Former All-Star takes shot at Celtics: ‘Irrelevant for the last 30 years’
With the Lakers and Celtics tied with 17 NBA championships, the race for banner No. 18 is underway. So, which of the two is better positioned to become the winningest club in NBA history?
On a recent episode of FS1’s “Undisputed,” Celtics legend Paul Pierce made his prediction while questioning the legitimacy of the Lakers’ last title run in the Orlando bubble.
“I guarantee you guys this: we’ll win our 18th championship before the Lakers,” Pierce said. “Y’all [Lakers] just caught up a few years ago when you won that Mickey Mouse championship.”
Pierce makes a valid point, considering the C’s are currently the odds-on favorites to win the NBA Finals in June. The Lakers, meanwhile, are not even among the top-10 title favorites and have a lot of work to do to qualify for next month’s playoffs.
Needless to say, Pierce’s comments triggered an all-out war between Celtics and Lakers fans on social media. Even former All-Star Gilbert Arenas chimed in with his take on his “Gil’s Arena” podcast.
“If I’m being petty, 95 percent of the Celtics’ championships came before Paul Pierce was even born,” Arenas said, referencing the Celtics winning 13 of their 17 titles before 1977.
Since Pierce was born in 1977, the Celtics raised banners in 1981, 1984, 1986 and 2008.
During the same time frame, the Lakers won five titles in the 1980s and another six since the start of the new millennium. For those keeping count, the Lakers are 11-4 over the Celtics since 1977.
“They won most of their championships during the 8-team league, dawg,” Arenas said of the Celtics. “In the last 30 years, Boston has been irrelevant in basketball history. In the last 30 years, you have one championship [in 2008].”
Gilbert Arenas says the Celtics have been irrelevant for the last 30 years and most of their championships came in an eight-team league
"Nobody remembers you"
(Via @GilsArenaShow / h/t @WheelerJaylen )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 21, 2024
The Celtics could change the narrative about them by going on a dynastic run over the next few years.
They have the pieces in place, with their two superstars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, just entering their prime years. Tatum turned 26 earlier this month.
