Paul Pierce is admitting he got it wrong.
Less than two months after declaring that the New York Knicks would not win another NBA championship in his lifetime, the Boston Celtics legend issued a brief but notable apology Sunday after the Knicks captured their first title in 53 years.
“My Bad I’m sorry I apologize 🤦🏾♂️,” Pierce posted on social media following New York’s championship-clinching 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The post represented a dramatic reversal from comments Pierce made in April on the No Fouls Given podcast, when he named four franchises he believed would not win championships again during his lifetime.
“There’s four teams up there that haven’t won in my lifetime… and I still don’t believe these teams in my lifetime will win a championship,” Pierce said at the time. “That’s Portland, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and the Kings. Imma be a dead man before they win.”
The prediction quickly resurfaced after the Knicks completed one of the most memorable postseason runs in franchise history.
Knicks End One of NBA’s Longest Championship Droughts
New York entered the season carrying the fifth-longest active championship drought in the NBA.
The franchise had not won a title since 1973 and had not reached the Finals since 1999.
Under first-year coach Mike Brown, however, the Knicks authored a historic postseason. They closed out the first round with three straight blowouts after the Atlanta Hawks took a 2-1 lead. Then they swept the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers before defeating the Spurs in five games to secure the franchise’s first championship in more than half a century.
The title-clinching victory capped a playoff run defined by resilience and dramatic comebacks.
New York erased a 29-point deficit in Game 4 — tied for the second-largest comeback in NBA postseason history and the biggest comeback ever in an NBA Finals game — before rallying from a 16-point deficit in Game 5 in San Antonio.
Jalen Brunson’s Historic Finals Changes Narrative
At the center of New York’s championship run was Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.
The star point guard delivered one of the finest performances in franchise history, averaging 32.6 points, 4.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals during the Finals.
Brunson saved his best for the clincher.
The 29-year-old scored 45 points in Game 5, tying Michael Jordan’s record for the most points scored on the road in an NBA Finals-clinching game. He also poured in 15 points during the fourth quarter, the most in a Finals-clinching fourth quarter since Jordan scored 16 points in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
Pierce Now Raises Knicks Star’s All-Time Standing
Ironically, Pierce’s apology came as he was also elevating Brunson’s place in NBA history.
Speaking on No Fouls Given after the Finals, Pierce suggested Brunson’s championship run warrants comparisons with some of the greatest point guards of the modern era.
“I said this about a week ago, like, man, does he rate amongst the best?” Pierce asked. “Where does he rate amongst guys like Kyrie Irving, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, John Stockton? Is he in that category now?”
“We’re going to have to take a sip of something and have a real conversation about this,” Pierce added. “Because he did his thing, man.”
For Pierce, that conversation began with an apology.
For Knicks fans, it ended with a championship they waited 53 years to celebrate.
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