Paul Pierce's Best Teammates Throughout His NBA Career

When Rajon Rondo was drafted by the Boston Celtics during the 2006 NBA draft, he was already joining Paul Pierce at the peak of his powers, and many didn't expect the young point guard to truly amount to anything substantial during his time with the Celtics. Fast forwards 2 years, and suddenly, Rondo was arguably the most important player on a championship-winning team featuring Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Rondo was a wizard with basketball, and one of the greatest passers the league has ever seen, and his grit and determination alongside Garnet revitalized this once storied franchise. Pierce and Rondo became phenomenal friends, playing 7 seasons and 515 total games together, and their 2008 championship still bonds them to this very day.

Kevin Garnett was already widely regarded as one of the best players in basketball long before he partnered with Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics, but it was when they finally came together in the summer of 2007 that both of their careers would change forever. The duo would play 529 games together over 7 seasons and win games at a masterful 64.5% clip. During their first-ever year together, Garnett and Pierce would spearhead and revolutionize the Celtics franchise, win an NBA championship, and keep the team in contention for the next half-decade. Garnett became a fan favorite alongside Pierce, and the duo played the most games as teammates as anyone else in their respective careers. They both remain legends for the Boston Celtics to this very day.

In the twilight of his career, Paul Pierce re-joined his old coach Doc Rivers on the Los Angeles Clippers alongside superstar Chris Paul as they attempted to make a run at the NBA championship. Pierce would play his final two seasons alongside Paul, and while Pierce was a shell of the former player he once was, Paul put up some of the best stats of his career during their run from 2015-2017. Paul and Pierce both had a killer-winner mentality and pushed their teammates to their absolute limit, but sadly, their limit appeared to be first-round exits in back-to-back years. Pierce would retire at the end of the 2017 season, and Paul would be traded to the Houston Rockets in the same offseason.

Two years removed from an NBA championship, Rasheed Wallace signed with the Boston Celtics as the franchise hoped they could use Wallace's grit, toughness, and determination to win one more ring. Wallace had to embrace an entirely new role-playing alongside Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, coming off the bench as the team's backup big man, a role he had never done in his career. While individually this was a struggle for Wallace, putting up the worst numbers of his career, as a team, the Celtics thrived, making it all the way back to the NBA finals, but inevitably losing in 7 games to the Celtics. Wallace wasn't a fan of his role or his time with the Celtics, and would retire from the NBA in the offseason, but would return 3 years later to join the New York Knicks.

Ray Allen was the final and missing piece that the newly formed Boston Celtics needed to get over the hump and solidify themselves as not only contenders but as a legitimate threat to become an NBA dynasty. Allen was a high-flying, sharp shooting guard who desperately wanted a ring after getting remarkably close throughout his career, and while he had to play third fiddle behind Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, he more than accepted his role and earned his 2008 NBA championship. Allen would play a total of 5 seasons with pierce, however, a rocky exit from the franchise and some choice words between the men seemingly broke the bond they spent half a decade forming.

In his final season in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal joined Paul Pierce on the Boston Celtics as he attempted to go for one final run for yet another championship. Pierce and the Celtics were 2 years removed from a championship by the time O'Neal joined, and although he was already on his last legs, the team assumed he could help them in their pursuit of another championship, even if it was just in quick stints. O'Neal would only play 37 games with the squad at 20.3 minutes per game, however, he still managed to help the team get the 4th best record in the league at 56-26. Sadly, the Celtics would lose in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat, and O'Neal would then retire in the offseason.