I always expect Pierce to be overlooked in lists like this. But he wasn't. Ian Thomsen has put together a nice little list.
His starting 5: Nash, Kobe, LeBron, Duncan and Shaq. Hard to argue with that for an All Decade team.
KG is a reserve…
Though Garnett was the 2004 league MVP with Minnesota, he was
criticized for failing to lead the undermanned Wolves to an NBA Finals.
Those complaints turned into cheers with his trade to the Celtics in
2007, when Garnett joined with Pierce and Ray Allen to lead Boston to its first championship in 22 years. Garnett will go down as one of the great defenders of his era.
So is Pierce.
After reaching the 2002 conference finals as a 24-year-old go-to scorer, Pierce matured — with the help of coach Doc Rivers
— to become an all-around playmaker while the Celtics were attempting
to rebuild with youth. When those youngsters were traded for Garnett
and Allen, Pierce was ready to do everything from scoring to creating
to defending LeBron on his way to becoming Finals MVP in 2008.
Again… hard to argue. KG vs. Duncan is a little bit of a debate… so is Nash vs. Kidd as far as starter vs. reserve. Not a big deal. Good list.
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
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