As he prepares to play in front of the Boston Celtics faithful for the first time as a Washington Wizard, former longtime Celtic Paul Pierce isn't expecting the same tide of emotion that surged over him the first time he played in Boston as a member of a visiting team.
In January, Pierce played at the TD Garden as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. To commemorate his 15 magnificent seasons and lone NBA Championship in Boston, the Celtics showed a near-two-minute tribute video after the first quarter.
While he'll be received just as warmly when the Wizards visit the Garden on Sunday afternoon, Pierce will be focused solely on the basketball game at hand.
"I’ve already been through that round," Pierce said Friday, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. "The emotion has already come and gone. I did the tribute. It’s like accepted. You accept that you’re not there anymore. But I always miss it. It’s always going to be a place that I’ll remember. I had a lot of great years there."
His former Celtics coach, Doc Rivers, doesn't think there's any separating Pierce from his NBA roots.
"He is a Celtic for life. Period," said Rivers, now the Los Angeles Clippers coach and president of basketball operations. "Doesn’t matter where he plays. We tried to sign him. He didn’t play for us. He’s still a Celtic. He’ll always be a Celtic. And that’s exactly what he should be.
"He’s a Celtic playing for other teams. That’s exactly the way I look at Paul. I’ll never look at him as a Wizard. That’s just not going to happen. He’s just a Celtic playing for the Wizards, and we all know that."
For all Pierce's apparent nonchalance about his impending return, he still posted this video - celebrating his enduring love for Boston - to the Derek Jeter-helmed athlete website The Players' Tribune.
"That’s how I’ll always be remembered," Pierce said. "No doubt about it - unless I can get a couple championships here."
