The Truth may be ready to call it quits.
Every great athlete faces the unenviable task of mulling retirement at some point, and it is almost always a gut-wrenching decision. After an emotional season-ending loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, Washington Wizards small forward Paul Pierce admitted he isn’t sure he will play in the NBA next season.
“I don’t even know if I’m going to play basketball again next year,” Pierce said, per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. “I don’t know how many of these rides I have left.”
Kilgore also noted Pierce will consult his family about retirement.
There’s no doubt that Pierce would be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer should he retire. He scored 25,899 career regular-season points, good for No. 19 on the NBA’s all-time list. A 10-time All-Star, he spent most of his 17-year career in Boston, playing for the Celtics. Pierce helped the C’s earn a title in 2008, when he also won the NBA Finals MVP award.
Pierce may end up changing his mind. After a time of rest to clear his mind and rest his body, he could determine he has one final year left in him.
If not, here’s a final parting shot:
Brutal. Fantastic. RT @MrMichaelLee: This WaPo Sports front is prettay, prettay good pic.twitter.com/OOYVWEawqw (via @danWorthington)
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) May 16, 2015
Pierce’s emotions after nearly sending Game 6 to overtime against the Atlanta Hawks are understandable. He had hit the game-tying shot to force overtime in the do-or-die outing for Washington. However, officials waved the shot off after it was decided in review that the ball was in Pierce’s hands as time expired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=14&v=6wMh7EvoQbg
If that was indeed the last shot of Pierce’s career, at least we know he went out fighting.
Photo: USA Today Sports