LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been embroiled in a pretty tight race for the MVP trophy this season. Both of their teams are at the top of their respective conferences and many are anticipating an NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. There is an argument to be made for both of these players when it comes to MVP honors although not everyone thinks the race is that tight.

As you would expect, former NBA star and current analyst, Paul Pierce, believes Giannis is the clear-cut winner here. As Pierce explained on ESPN, you can’t award LeBron the trophy just because he beat Giannis in a regular-season game. For now, Pierce thinks Giannis has simply been the better player this season.

“You don’t base MVP off of one game like it’s the All-Star game,” Pierce said. “LeBron won the battle (against Giannis), but the war is already won by Giannis. (…) He’s putting historic numbers for a guy his size, he has the best team, a record-wise and the numbers speak for themselves. He’s been dominating all year long, so I take him for MVP and I’ll take LeBron second.”

Pierce’s opinion shouldn’t be a shock to anyone especially since he always seems to be hating on LeBron. Even if he’s right with what he’s saying, there is always a bit of bias behind it and you have to be cognizant of that. 

Let us know who you think should win MVP, in the comments below.

Paul Pierce has had some harsh words for LeBron James over the last few days. It all started when Pierce claimed that LeBron wasn't a top-five player of all time. It then escalated yesterday as Pierce continued to note that LeBron has underachieved throughout his career and that some of his accomplishments with the Miami Heat were overrated due to certain circumstances.

Kendrick Perkins was disgusted with these claims and immediately clapped back at Pierce with an interesting opinion. As he explained, Kobe Bryant was easier to defeat than LeBron and that people need to stop hating on the three-time champion. Pierce obviously didn't agree but Perkins was fired up all the same.

No player has become a bigger hater in retirement than Paul Pierce. Of course, Pierce needed Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to come to the Boston Celtics to even do anything in the playoffs, but for some reason, he still has a vendetta against LeBron James for joining the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Pierce, who acts like his Celtics won three-straight, has been launching a full-on assault against LeBron as he looks to discredit him at every turn. In fact, Pierce recently said LeBron wasn't a top 5 player all time.

Today, Pierce was back to his old ways as he said the Miami Heat underachieved and that one of James' championships was only won because of Allen. While some of the facts he presented are true, you can't help but feel that Pierce is obsessed with putting LeBron down.

With the finale of The Last Dance airing over the weekend, people are still going crazy over Michael Jordan's documentary. One of the greatest sports docu-series of all time, The Last Dance proved to many younger fans of basketball that #23 is genuinely the best to play the game. According to Paul Pierce, the other #23 that people usually mention in those talks isn't anywhere close to MJ's level.

That's right. According to Paul Pierce, LeBron James isn't even a Top 5 player in basketball history. He explained why he believes that in his latest quarantine hot take.

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"What has LeBron did to build up any organization from the ground? I’m talking about these players, top-5 players," said the Boston Celtics legend before listing off players he thinks have a stronger legacy than James.

"Bill Russell built the organization of Boston, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe, Bird. These guys are all-time top 10 players who helped build their organization or continued the tradition," he continued.

Pierce definitely has a point -- that is one thing that LeBron James cannot take credit for. He has not built teams from the ground up. On the other hand though, he has vastly made a positive difference to any team he has been on, most recently helping the Los Angeles Lakers out of their longtime slump to become one of the best teams in the league.

Do you think LeBron James is one of the greatest players of all time? Where would you place him in the conversation?

Sports fans have been deprived of content throughout this quarantine period and sports leagues around the world are well-aware of that. The NBA is taking matters into their own hands and are coming through with a competition that will certainly get fans excited. We reported over the weekend that the NBA would have a H-O-R-S-E competition with some of the NBA’s best players. This is a classic game amongst basketball players and now, the NBA will be turning it into a primetime event.

The eight participants have been revealed and it is surely going to be a lot of fun. The players are split into two groups, with the winner of each group advancing to the finals. In group 1, we have Chauncey Billups, Tamika Catchings, Mike Conley Jr, and Trae Young. Meanwhile, group 2 features the likes of Allie Quigley, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, and Zach Lavine.

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On Sunday, April 12th at 7PM EST, the quarterfinal matchups will take place. The players will be in their respective homes where they all have nets set up. The four semi-finalists will play on Thursday, April 16th at 9 PM EST. That same night, the winner of the entire tournament will be crowned.

Let us know in the comments below who you think is going to come away with the win.

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Paul Pierce is considered to be a legend in Boston. He helped the team win a title in 2008 and while his hot takes get him in trouble, there is no doubt he is a respected player around the NBA. Pierce was drafted tenth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1998 although he was projected to go much higher. While speaking to the “All The Smoke” podcast, Pierce admitted that he actually wanted 

“The Clippers was the number one pick, and I was like, ‘Ooh, I wanna go home and play,’” Pierce said. So I worked out for them, and then I asked them for a second workout… I was projected to go No. 2 to the Vancouver Grizzlies. Clippers wanted a big man, they picked [Michael] Olowokandi.”

Pierce went on to explain how he felt while he saw himself slipping in the draft. As you can imagine, it wasn’t a very good feeling.

“The Draft comes, and I just slipped. I’m an All American, I’m a top 5 player in college, I’m up for National Player of the Year, so I’m wondering why is it that I’m slipping. I’m slipping in the draft,” Pierce explained.

While Pierce didn’t get drafted high, there is no denying things ended up working out for him.

Paul Pierce has lived an interesting life. When you’re an NBA player, this should be standard. However, some experiences tend to be a lot more traumatic than others. Back in 2000, Pierce was viciously stabbed at a nightclub in Boston after speaking to a woman. Details on what happened are pretty scarce but now, Pierce is opening up about how he felt in the aftermath of the attack. 

The NBA champion was on the “All The Smoke” Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson where he spoke about the traumatic experience and how he had to move around differently for years. In fact, Pierce had to carry a gun on him for protection.

“People don’t know this, but I actually carried a gun for two years right after that,” Pierce said. “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. I was like to the point of like, losing it.”

Luckily for Pierce, he had basketball to fall back on and was able to live his life normally. He is looked at as a hero in Boston and while his recent hot takes have resulted in various memes, there is no denying Pierce belongs in the Hall of Fame. 

If there is one thing to take away from this, it’s that basketball is a huge unifier.