Truth Time

You can't turn on a TV or pick up a newspaper in the greater Boston area these days without the same never-ending argument slapping you squarely in the face: Does Paul Pierce rank among the top 10 players in the NBA?

Celtics broadcaster Mike Gorman puts him in the top three. Magic Johnson puts him somewhere just behind behind Kobe (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/). Local loudmouth Michael Felger has him in the top 10. And Pierce anointed himself the league's best player in an interview this off-season.

It's a fascinating discussion. Pierce certainly has the kind of skill set that often leads to such a discourse - consistent jumper, deep range, the ability to create his own shot at any time - and lately he's added another element to the mix: He's absolutely and indisputably clutch. His fadeaway jumper to bury the Hawks last week was the definition of the word. His performance down the stretch in that game and against the Raptors (in another Pierce-led comeback victory) two nights earlier prove he's among the game's greatest closers. There are three Hall of Famers in the Celtics huddle, but there's never a doubt where the ball is going in crunch time.

Ironically, that was Magic's rationale for putting Kobe at the top of the list, noting his three titles. While I would ask you to note the number of titles he's won without Shaq, one could say the same about Pierce without Garnett and Allen, making that a moot point. But a championship ring does not a finisher make. As far as I'm concerned, this debate was settled last year during the NBA Finals with a scientific analysis I like to refer to as the "eyeball test."

My eyes showed me Kobe wilting against the best defense in the NBA. They showed me Kobe leading his team from a 24-point lead into one of the greatest collapses in NBA Finals history. They showed me Pierce ASKING to guard Bryant, and then shutting him down - completely - highlighting the sequence with a masterful block of Kobe's supposedly indefensible fadeaway.

They also showed me Pierce guiding the aformentioned comeback, putting the Celtics on his back for quarters and games at a time and racing to the NBA Finals MVP in his first ever appearance in the series. That, in case you were wondering, is finishing.

And just for the record, here are the updated NBA Finals MVP standings: Pierce 1, Kobe 0, LeBron 0.

So where does Pierce ultimately rank?

Guess what: I don't care.

It's seems like a complicated argument. LeBron is obviously more of a force and a better rebounder, and he's only in his early 20s. Kobe is perhaps the best one-on-one player in the league (unless the other "one" is Pierce, as the Finals proved last year). Either one is more likely to go off for 40 points on any given night. Ask any Fantasy hoops stat freak and they'll take either one before they take Pierce.

Not me. I like to factor things into the discussion that others seem happy to overlook, archaic notions like "leadership" and "character" and "personality." Look them up - you might be able to use them someday.

Kobe goes 0-for-3 on that front, and it's not even close. Consider the following resume: He orchestrated the trading of O'Neal, thereby ending LA's championship run; he demanded a trade from the Lakers all last off-season before magically becoming "happy" when ownership bent over backwards to hand him championship pieces, and then proceeded to blow his chance at leading a team to the promised land; and he consistently bashes teammates off the floor and gives them condescending looks on the floor. Oh, and he was once charged with raping a woman.

That goes to character, in case you haven't found your dictionary.

LeBron is harder to argue against. He's highly likeable, and obviously has the ability to put a team on his shoulders, a la two years ago when he took a team of nobodys to the NBA Finals. But one could argue that wasn't so much leadership as simply taking over - he didn't look to involve his teammates or make them better, he simply did things himself. Impressive? Absolutely. But not the makings of a true leader.

And then there's Pierce. Obviously, he has had his moments, most notably a few complaints when the team was in the toilet for most of his prime. But the complaints were few and far between, and never demands. He always wanted to be a Celtic for the rest of his career. And when he was given a new, championship-caliber team to work with, he finished the deal - not by saying "me me me" but by deferring part of his game (he averaged fewer points last year than he has in the last half-decade) for the better of the team.

He became a stalwart defender. He buried clutch shots. He happily shared the spotlight with not one but two future Hall of Fame players. Ask Kobe about "sharing the spotlight." Better yet, ask Shaq.

But Pierce is also very much a human being, with emotions the average joe can understand and relate to. He's always been honest in the press, and with teammates and coaches. His main goal was always to win, and win in Boston, and he waited patiently as the Celtics wasted much of his prime, with last season's magical run being the ultimate reward. Celtic fans feel like they know Pierce, like they've hung out with him 82 times a year for the past decade or so. He's got that charisma and charm about him.

Everything was officially cemented during this year's ring ceremony. When Pierce took the trophy from John Havlicek and walked through a line of Celtics greats, his back was to the camera. And when he turned around, he was weeping. Not misty, not fighting tears - full on, all-out, weeping.

And so was I. If that scene didn't stir emotions in you, you are an unfeeling robot - plain and simple. Pierce had waited more than 10 years for that moment, and everything he'd been through - all the highs and the more recent lows - made the climax that much more emotional. Pierce cried because he'd achieved exactly what he wanted, in perhaps the most storybook manner possible. Kobe and LeBron - and most other NBA stars for that matter - would have tried to play it cool, like it was no big thing. Just a trophy, right?

But it was more than a big thing to Pierce. It was everything. To him, and to everyone who has grown to love him over the years.

Should that matter in a discussion of the best players in the league? Depends on who you ask. Most ESPN talking heads want points and points and more points. Most Fantasy geeks want full stat lines. They want Kobe scoring 50, or LeBron and his 40-8-8 stat sheets.

They can all have them. I'll take Pierce, who's good for 30 points and six rebounds on any given night, good for the last second shot when you need it, good for a defensive stand on the NBA's greatest stage, good for leadership and personality, good for taking a team to the top of the mountain without so much as an inkling of an ego.

And Good, as a human being. You can look that up, too.

So where does Pierce ultimately stand? People on TV will use numbers and rankings and standings as a base line, and under that analysis he'll probably never break into the top three or four. I say so what. While Kobe and LeBron are putting up gaudy numbers and selling hundreds of thousands of jerseys and sports drinks, Pierce is content to hoist banners and trophies. 

Bottom line: There's nobody I'd rather have leading my favorite team than Paul Pierce.

And there's no amount of arguing that will ever change my mind about that.