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in 2008, Paul Pierce staged one of the more memorable comebacks in NBA history when he was taken off of the court in a wheelchair during the first game of the Finals between the Lakers and the Celtics only to miraculously return shortly after and help lead his team to victory (and an eventual title).
However, after over a decade of speculation concerning the nature of his supposed injury, Pierce cleared things up last summer when he admitted the real reason he left the floor was because he pooped himself.
Paul Pierce admits he shit himself during "wheelchair game" pic.twitter.com/vy8L2cymhh
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However, prior to that incident, Pierce had staged another comeback that was very, very real after he was stabbed 11 times at a club in Boston a month before the season was slated to begin in 2000, but after undergoing surgery, he managed to start the first game and didn’t miss a single one for the rest of it.
A couple of years ago, Pierce reflected on the incident while speaking with ESPN and said playing basketball helped him cope with the depression and anxiety he dealt with following that fateful night.
Pierce said he had the police sit outside of his house for months after he was stabbed, but during a recent chat with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on All The Smoke, he revealed he also took matters into his own hands in the form of a gun he carried with him everywhere he went for the next two years (the conversation starts at the 29:30 mark if YouTube doesn’t cooperate).
Here’s what he had to say:
“People don’t know this, but I actually carried a gun for two years right after that.
I was so paranoid. Like, I kept it in the car, I had it on me, I was so paranoid after that. I was just like, I couldn’t be in crowds. Something like that happens to you, man, it’s traumatic.
It changes you, dude. You don’t know where to go, you don’t know who to look at, you on your toes. You’re like really on your toes, like, ‘Man, I’ll kill somebody.'”
Pierce would eventually conquer his paranoia and his teammates even made light of the event when he returned to Boston in 2016 as a member of the Clippers.
That’s certainly an interesting way to honor his legacy, but hey, you do you.