Was That Paul Pierce on Extended Family? Everything To Know about the Boston Celtics Legend

A California kid through and through, Paul Pierce was born in Oakland and spent his childhood in Inglewood. As a teenager, he attended Inglewood High School where he was cut from the varsity basketball team during his freshman and sophomore years, according to MassLive. 

That was all the motivation Pierce needed. From that point forward, he dedicated himself to improving his game and became the team’s best player during his junior and senior seasons. He was selected to participate in the 1995 McDonald’s All-American game – essentially a national high school All-Star game – that saw future NBA legends like Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter also participate.

As a 6’7” small forward with a knack for scoring (and a famous, Kobe Bryant-like intensity directed toward improving his skills throughout his life), Pierce enjoyed a successful collegiate career – to the surprise of absolutely no one! He spent three seasons playing for the University of Kansas before declaring his eligibility for the 1998 NBA Draft.

Pierce was honored in his junior year by being named as an Associated Press First Team All-American. He finished his Kansas Jayhawks career as the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,786 career points (that's good for 10th best in school history currently).

Pierce was selected by the Boston Celtics, one of the league’s premiere franchises, with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. After a rookie season that saw him average 16.5 points per game, it was clear that the Celtics found their franchise player – someone they could build a perennial contender around.

Beginning in 2002, Paul Pierce made the NBA All-Star team a jaw-dropping 10 times out of 11 eligible seasons (the only exception being his injury-marred campaign in 2006-2007 that saw him play less than 50 games). A consistent 20-points-per-game scorer, tenacious defender, and an all-time great leader on the court, Celtics fans rallied around Pierce throughout his career, with many citing him as being one of best Celtics to ever play. An all-around threat, there weren’t too many players on Pierce’s level at his peak.

The Celtics legend has only one NBA championship ring to his name – but it is one of the most impressive titles a player could ask for. In 2008, the Boston Celtics defeated the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals to win the franchise’s first championship since 1986. The Celtics haven’t won an NBA title since.

Pierce led a formidable squad alongside Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. The threesome were dubbed “The Big Three” and helped herald in a new era of the NBA that saw teams attempt to build their franchises around three cornerstone players. It’s a strategy that is still prevalent in 2024.

In addition, thanks to his unworldly play in the Finals themselves, Pierce was awarded the NBA Finals MVP award to go alongside his championship trophy in 2008.

After leaving the Celtics to test free agency after the 2012-2013 season, Pierce finished his career as a complementary player for a number playoff contenders, including the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards. Fittingly, the final team he played for was the Los Angeles Clippers – a team that plays just a few miles from where he went to high school.

Pierce’s NBA career came to an end April 30, 2017. In his final game – a playoff game, nonetheless – Pierce recorded six points and three rebounds in a losing effort to the Utah Jazz.

On February 11, 2018, his jersey (#34) was retired by the Boston Celtics in an emotional ceremony, officially commemorating his illustrious NBA career.

Pierce’s accomplishments on the court made him a no-brainer inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – and that’s exactly what happened in 2021. He joined fellow iconic NBA players like Chris Webber and Chris Bosh, who also enjoyed a Hall of Fame induction that year.

Perhaps even more impressively, Pierce was elected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team that same year. The 75th Anniversary Team was created to commemorate the best players in league history – Paul Pierce was one of 20 Celtics alumni to make the prestigious squad.

Paul Pierce married his longtime girlfriend, Julie Landrum, with whom he has three children, in 2010. However, it seems they're no longer together. Although neither party has given an official statement about their apparent breakup, Pierce took to social media to confirm his relationship status last year.