They say ‘Never meet your heroes’. After quickly making a name for himself in the NBA, a young Paul Pierce got a chance to meet one of his idols, Grant Hill. What should have been a moment of inspiration turned into something completely different. Hill absolutely dominated him on the court, leaving Pierce questioning everything. “Man, am I in the league?” That unforgettable encounter stuck with him, and years later, he opened up about it.

In a candid chat on the KG Certified podcast, Pierce shared some fascinating stories with Kevin Garnett. Pierce revealed the players he’d once approached for autographs. The 2008 Finals MVP started with Scottie Pippen but quickly shifted to Grant Hill. Then came the jaw-dropping revelation. “Man, so first time [I] meet Grant Hill, he killed me. He gave me like 38, 40,” Pierce admitted.

When Garnett asked about their interaction Pierce said, “No, it wasn’t no conversation, ’cuz I was crushed… I was just crushed.” Garnett followed up with, “Was it cool?” and Pierce didn’t hesitate, saying, “It wasn’t cool. It wasn’t cool.”

Interestingly, Pierce revisited the same story earlier this year on the All the Smoke podcast. He vividly described the experience, calling Hill a matchup nightmare. “Grant Hill—he gave me buckets, bro. I think he might have gave me like 30… He kept getting me with that stutter cross. I kept going for it every time.”

“That was like my rookie or second year,” Pierce added, reflecting on the memory. “I was ready to, like, damn, I was thinking, ‘Was I even in the league after that game?’” Despite the rough reception, Pierce admitted he had modeled parts of his game after Hill while growing up.

Paul Pierce looked up to Grant Hill

With 26,397 points scored over 19 seasons, the Celtics legend proved himself as one of the most consistent and versatile scorers in league history. He also added 3,180 points in the playoffs, ranking 23rd all-time. Given his scoring prowess, it’s no surprise Pierce grew up studying some of the best offensive players to ever hit the hardwood.

“It was about five of them,” Pierce said on All the Smoke podcast. “Steve Smith, Michigan State; Jimmy Jackson, Ohio State; Glenn Big Dog Robinson, Purdue; and Grant Hill at Duke. Them was the dudes I watched closely. I taped all their games.” As a young small forward, Pierce soaked up their styles, noting how Jimmy Jackson’s pull-up game and Grant Hill’s point-forward skills stood out. “My senior year, I became the point forward, and so I’m watching Steve Smith — point forward,” he explained.

But Pierce didn’t just watch them—he studied every move. “I was emulating the things that they doing,” he shared. “Handling the ball, distributing… jumper, inside, outside. They had it.”

At Kansas College, Pierce began putting those lessons to work. Across three seasons, he averaged 16.4 points per game while shooting an efficient 48.1% from the field. By the time he left college, it was clear those early influences had shaped him into a future NBA star.