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“Everybody Doesn’t Want to Sacrifice”: Breaking Silence on Paul Pierce’s Controversial Claim, Dwyane Wade Seemingly Opts for the High Road

Published 08/14/2023, 5:50 AM EDT

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Dwyane Wade is now officially part of the basketball royalty after getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. He faced many great players throughout his 16-year playing career. It is safe to say that there are not many who can claim to be better than the 3x NBA Champion. But Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce is certain that he was a better player than the 2006 Finals MVP. Now Wade has reacted to the controversial claims and as always, the Flash oozed class with his response.

While Pierce and the Celtics often got the better of Wade and his Miami Heat, that all changed in 2010 after LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents to South Beach. Nevertheless, Pierce, on many occasions, claimed that he’s much more skillful than the 13x All-Star.

Dwyane Wade reacts to Paul Pierce’s claims

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Paul Pierce loves poking his former rivals and boasting about his achievements as a basketball player. He famously claimed that he was the reason why LeBron James went to Miami leaving Cleveland. He has also previously claimed that he’s better than LeBron’s teammate in Miami, Dwyane Wade. Wade gave us a rather interesting take on the matter.

via Imago

In an interview with the New York Times, Wade admitted that Pierce was a great player, but he didn’t get his due credit. So he’s trying to stay relevant by ringing his own bell. He said, “I played the game the way I played it, and I made the sacrifices that I made. Everybody doesn’t want to sacrifice.”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Wade hysterically snatches his hall of fame trophy. 

Wade made it clear that Pierce had every right to believe he was the better man on the court. The 13x All-Star further stated that the only reason Pierce was still pointing fingers at him after so many years was because he didn’t get the recognition that he deserved when he played the game and also the fact that the Celtics legend might be obsessed with him.

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Dwyane Wade’s and Paul Pierce’s online feud

Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce once got into it on social media with each other. Pierce once claimed that Wade benefitted from playing with guys like Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James. To this, Wade replied, “Listen, rent is expensive in America and I’m living rent-free right now. I don’t need to say anything… I went and got my Avengers.”

It’ll be interesting to see if the duo of Wade and Pierce will continue their rivalry in the future or not. However, one might argue that Pierce and Wade do not need to get involved in verbal altercations as they have their own respective place in basketball history.

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What are your thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Aaditya Negi

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Aaditya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports and has been following the game for a number of years. He is an avid fan of the NBA and follows what’s happening in the league on a daily basis. Having worked as an intern in the sports domain, his passion for writing arose from his fondness for the intricacies of the game.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth