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Parish: Pierce was better offensive player than Larry Bird

Al Bello / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Robert Parish is coming in with a hot take.

Parish, a living icon for the Celtics, played 14 seasons in Boston from 1980-94, averaging 16.5 points and 10 rebounds while winning three NBA championships during his time in green. He also spent 12 of those seasons alongside one of the greatest players ever in Larry Bird.

But, at a celebration dinner for Paul Pierce held by the Celtics the night before they retire his No. 34, Parish opined that it's Pierce, not Bird, who will go down as the greatest Celtics scorer of all time.

"I just feel like Paul was more creative. He was the better scorer than say Larry or John Havlicek," Parish said Saturday, according to USA TODAY Sports' Jared Weiss. "I think Havlicek and Larry and Paul were probably the best offensive players that the Celtics ever had.

"I think Paul tops that list, in my opinion."

For what it's worth, Pierce did surpass Bird on the Celtics' all-time points leaderboard (Havlicek ranks first with 26,395). Bird did, however, shoot better from the field (49.6 percent compared to Pierce's 44.5) and averaged 24.3 points per game throughout his Celtics career - a higher mark than Pierce's 21.8.

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