Dwyane Wade Says He ‘Didn’t Play The Game To Be Better Than Paul Pierce’

During an interview with Sopan Deb of the New York Times, Dwyane Wade said he didn’t play in the NBA to be better than Paul Pierce.

Pierce made a bold comparison between his and Wade’s NBA careers during an appearance on the It Is What It Is talk show last month, suggesting that if he had been in the same situation as Wade, he would have also won multiple titles.

“I’m living rent-free right now,” Wade told Deb. “I got so many things going on in my life. Comparing myself to someone who’s not playing or someone who is playing is definitely not on my to-do list. Listen, Paul Pierce was one of the greatest (NBA) players that we’ve had in our game. And I think, you know, when you are a great player and you don’t get the attention that you feel like your game deserved, sometimes you’ve got to grab whatever attention where those straws are.

“And Paul believes he’s a better player than me. He should believe that. That’s why he was great. That’s not my argument, and I didn’t play the game to be better than Paul Pierce. I played the game the way I played it, and I made the sacrifices that I made. Everybody doesn’t want to sacrifice.”

Pierce claimed that he was a better offensive player than Wade, adding that his NBA career was “unappreciated.” The Boston Celtics legend believes he would have won several NBA championships had he played with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Shaquille O’Neal.

“Put Shaq on my team, put LeBron and Bosh with me, I’m not gonna win one?” Pierce said. “Put me, LeBron and Bosh… we not gonna win a couple? For a long time, my skills went unappreciated because I didn’t get to play with a lot of great players. And then I got to play with KG [Kevin Garnett] and Ray [Allen] past their prime. Four years earlier, you put me, Ray, and KG together, you think we’re not walking away with three ‘ships?”

Wade, who won three NBA titles during his career on the Miami Heat, joined Pierce in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12. The Marquette product finished his NBA career with averages of 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists with the Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. Wade made 13 All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams and three All-Defensive teams and won one scoring title and one Finals MVP Award.

Wade played in five NBA Finals. He is universally recognized as the third-best shooting guard in NBA history behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Pierce, meanwhile, had a decorated career of his own. He ended his NBA career averaging 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists with the Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers. Pierce made 10 All-Star teams and four All-NBA teams and won the 2008 Finals MVP Award.