Paul Pierce Serenades Kobe Bryant In Farewell Commercial
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's no secret that former Celtics great and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce grew up as an avid fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up in Inglewood, Calif., Pierce idolized Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers in his formative years.
So, when Pierce was drafted by the Boston Celtics, he had to make a sharp adjustment to life on the other side of the cross-country rivalry.
That much, he did. Pierce played more than 1,200 games for the Celtics, and he reached the apex of his career as the Finals MVP against his hometown Lakers in 2008.
Now, in what is likely his final year in the NBA, Pierce has shown his respect to arguably the best player of his time, Kobe Bryant.
"My hate was growing stronger," Pierce yells in his raspy voice which maybe can't carry a tune all that well. Fortunately, Rasheed Wallace steps in to finish the line.
It's part of a Nike campaign which "illustrates the athlete's polarizing effect among players, coaches and fans, whom many have loved and others have loved to hate." And it leads into something called ... Mamba Day.
That's gross.
Of course, Bryant is making a much bigger story out of his final year in the NBA, following in the footsteps of Derek Jeter and getting a head start on David Ortiz over in the baseball world. Pierce, now a member of the Clippers, hasn't announced that he'll retire at the end of the year (unless he wins a title), but he admitted that this season could be his last.
In that sense, maybe Kobe ought to reciprocate the show of respect back to Pierce, but ... let's be honest. Kobe would never do that.
But in this one, at least, Kobe is willing to embrace his role as someone fans have loved to hate for the past 20 years. He puts in a pretty good performance and makes history while doing so, as it's the first time he's ever stood on a basketball court and delegated to other people.
Bye, Kobe!
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.