Paul Pierce will have his number 34 retired by the team that drafted him back in 1998, the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics are planning on retiring future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce’s jersey number, 34. Pierce, who played his final NBA game on Sunday, played with the Boston Celtics from 1998 to 2013, and had tremendous success in Beantown.
He represented the Celtics as an All-Star 10 times, brought the NBA championship title back to Boston in 2008, and earned Finals MVP honors that same year.
According to Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck, who was on The Sports Hub 98.5’s “Toucher and Rich”, not only will Pierce’s number be retired, but they are also considering bringing Pierce back to the organization, though they are not sure what the role will be. Per CBS Boston:
"“There have been conversations in general by people close to him,” said Grousbeck. “But we haven’t been allowed to talk directly to Paul while he’s been playing. He’s made it clear he’ll always feel like a Celtic and this is his basketball home. I think he wants to come back. We’re a little busy right now, thank goodness, and we’ll speak to him when the time is right.“I’d like to get Danny [Ainge] and Brad [Stevens’] input on it the this offseason, and see what Paul would like to do. But he’s a finals MVP, and the last player to wear No. 34 for us.”"
Next: NBA greats say their goodbyes to Paul Pierce
Early in the 2016-17 season, Pierce stated that he wanted to retire as a Celtic. He said that he spent so much of his career there and felt he owed it to the fans to “put that uniform on one more time” and retire as a Boston Celtic.
“The Truth” retires with career averages of 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. As a Celtic, he has career averages of 21.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals.