Paul Pierce: A True Captain by Sherene Abu-Hijleh

Captain [kap tuh n]: -noun

• A person who is at the head of or in authority over other; leader.


• Sports. The field leader of a team


• Paul Pierce

Every sports fan knows who Paul Pierce is. Number 34 for the Boston Celtics, Forward, 10 years in the NBA (all 10 spent in Boston), leading scorer for the C's with 20.4 points per game, 3rd in rebounds per game (5.8), 2nd in assists (3.6), and the Celtics only Captain.

Paul Pierce has been the Celtics captain for 5 years. From 1998-2003, Pierce was the co-captain, along with Antoine Walker. I'm sure every Celtics fan remembers the duo together on and off the court. They were the 1-2 punch for the Celtics, leading the C's to conference finals. But once Walker was traded to the Dallas Mavericks during the 2003-2004 NBA season, it was up to Pierce to fill the big shoes Walker left behind.

Pierce did just that. For the next 5 years, Pierce has stood tall and stayed strong, leading his fellow teammates to victories.

During the 2003-2004 season, Paul Pierce and the Celtics made the third consecutive playoff appearance, bowing out to the Indiana Pacers in the first round. During this season, Pierce played the most minutes (3,099), made the most field goals, (602), had the most free throws made, (517), had the most assists, (410), had the most points, (1,836), and had the most points per game (23). Pierce was hot!

The 2004-2005 season was almost a mimic of the previous season. The Celtics met with the Pacers once again for the first round of the playoffs. This round was a lot more exciting than last years, however. Game 1 was won in Boston by the C's. Game 2 was taken by the Pacers. Game 3 and 4 was split between both teams. It came down to a 3-game series with two games at Boston. The Pacers stole the nail-biting game 5 from the C's, winning it 90-85. The Celtics came back, however, in game 6 with a victory, tying the series 3-3. It was all up to Game 7. Unfortunately that game went to the Pacers. During this season, Pierce played the most games, (82), played 2,960 minutes worth of hard basketball, made 556 field goals, 549 free throws, tallied 1, 769 points, and averaged 21.6 points per game.

For the 2005-2006 season, Pierce pretty much swept the statistical board, except for most games played, (that went to LaFrentz with 82). Pierce played 3, 084 minutes, made 689 FG, 627 FT, 375 assists, 530 rebounds, 2,116 points for the season, and 26.3 PPG.

In the 2006-2007 season, Pierce made 320 Free Throws, scored 1,173 points and averaged 25 points per game. He continued to shine through the next season and into today.

Pierce had great stats for the 2007-2008 season. He played 80 games, 2,374 minutes, made 504 FG, 409 FT, came out of the season with 1,570 points, and averaged 19.6 PPG. And we can't forget the big victory Pierce led his team to...The NBA Title! Pierce helped the C's bring 17 home.

It's obvious to see that Pierce hasn't let his team down when they needed him most. If they needed points, Pierce got those points. If they needed rebounds, he crashed the boards. If they needed a good pass, Pierce found the open man. But, being a good player doesn't always come down the statistics. It comes down to leading.

Pierce's statistics are only a part of what makes him a great leader. Pierce was chosen to be captain because he is the most skilled player on the team and is determined to be the best leader. Of all the players, you will never see Pierce give up. That's his job as a captain. And, my personal opinion, he does a damn good job!