Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant be damned — Paul Pierce thinks he’s the best pure scorer in NBA history.
“I was probably the best pure scorer in the history of the game,” the longtime Celtic said Thursday on FS1’s “Speak” show. “I was pretty equipped.”
Pierce made the head-turning comments during a segment about whether or not Durant was the “most equipped scorer” in league history, as LeBron James claimed on a “Mind the Game” podcast episode with KD and Steve Nash.
Pierce couldn’t help but insert himself into the discussion.
“I need to be in this conversation,” the Hall of Famer said, as co-host Keyshawn Johnson prodded him.
“Could you pull up from the elbow?” Johnson asked.
“All of that,” Pierce replied.
“Could you knock down the three?” Johnson asked again.
“All of that,” Pierce said.
“Could you back them down? Could you turnaround?” Johnson asked.
“All of that,” Pierce replied emphatically as the debate went on.
Pierce admitted that he shot with worse efficiency than Durant, but claimed that KD “doesn’t really see defense” because he can get his shot off on anybody with his 6-foot-11 height.
“I shot more bad shots than Kevin,” Pierce said. “But because he’s seven feet, he can get his shot off on anybody.”
Durant boasts a career effective field goal percentage of .554, compared to Pierce’s .500.
Pierce, a 10-time All-Star who won Finals MVP with the Celtics in 2008, went on to praise Durant for how he “changed the game on the perimeter” as one of the first ultra-tall NBA players to come into the league with supreme guard skills.
“All [Durant’s] matchups and the way he shoots the ball and gets to the hole, he’s efficient with it, so I can see why LeBron would say that,” Pierce said. “But shoot, you gotta put me in that talk when it comes to most equipped scorers now. Come on, Bron.”