LeBron James is just 9 points short of reaching the milestone of 40,000 points. Therefore, becoming the first player in NBA history to do so. Yet it seems his old rival Paul Pierce doesn’t believe James will drive the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA Championship.

On the recent episode of All The Smoke, Pierce believed the Lakers were lucky to beat the Clippers. Boston Celtics Legend Paul Pierce also stated he was ready to bet against Lakers winning the series. He thinks the Celtics are favorites to win the Championship.

Crowe, a guest on the podcast said, “It’s not that I believe in them (Lakers) I’m just not betting against them.” To which The Truth replied, “I’m betting against them okay.”

But was quick to retract his statement by saying “Lakers have been up and down this season.” He was quick to praise King James on his podcast, respecting LeBron James for still being one of the best consistently.

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Pierce said, “You just got to respect the fact that he’s still doing it at this age and still one of the best. I mean that’s just crazy we ain’t never going to see nothing like this though, he (James) about to clip 40,000 that’s cool.”

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It’s not the first time Pierce has praised Lebron James

During the episode of The Dan Le Batard Show, Pierce gave James a lot of credit for not only staying in shape but also for raising the bar. “It’s a joy to watch, man. And I think us as fans gotta really cherish it for however many more years LeBron can play at this level. Cause I will tell you one thing, when I was like 34, I was waking up and it was hit or miss if I was gonna be ready for the game.” 

The 46-year-old also compared James and Tom Brady in terms of longevity but dubbed James as the greatest of all time. “LeBron is probably the greatest athlete we’ve ever seen. We’ve never seen nobody play at this level at this age. And, yeah you could say Brady, he played until he was 40-plus, but he didn’t have to run up and down the court, jump, go out there and dunk, guard. He had a good line to protect him.”

Pierce might still dislike Lebron, but that’s how they have always taken digs at each other: but still being respectful of each other’s achievements and praising each other.

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