Pierce doubled down on his take by questioning LeBron’s legacy-building impact on teams, contrasting it with how Jordan turned the Bulls into a dynasty from scratch. “Everywhere LeBron’s gone, he’s needed help or left when things got tough,” Pierce said during the segment, reigniting one of the NBA’s most polarizing debates. While fans immediately pushed back online — pointing to LeBron’s championships in Miami, Cleveland, and L.A. — Pierce stuck to his stance, arguing that rings earned with multiple superteams don’t carry the same weight. The Hall of Famer’s comments have once again put his long-running rivalry with LeBron back in the spotlight.

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The long-standing rivalry between former Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and retired Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce is still going strong

Paul Pierce doesn’t think LeBron James should be in the running for the greatest player of all time next to Michael Jordan. Not only that, he actually made a case as to why he shouldn’t even be considered as one of the five best players in NBA history.

Pierce said as much during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Countdown, showing a clip of Jordan during The Last Dance documentary cemented his opinion on LeBron.

“I go back and I ask myself, ‘What has LeBron done to build up any organization from the ground floor?’”

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Pierce pointed to stars like Jordan in Chicago, Larry Bird and Bill Russell in Boston, Tim Duncan in San Antonio, and Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson in Los Angeles doing just that.

Pierce is clearly forgetting that James completely transformed the Cavs after they selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft, leading them to a five NBA Finals.

The franchise had never advanced past the Eastern Conference Finals before he arrived. You can’t say the name Cleveland Cavaliers without bringing up LeBron’s name.