Paul Pierce took a victory lap after the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals.
On Monday, Boston cemented its last championship since Pierce’s team triumphed in 2008. The next morning, he arrived on Undisputed decked in green Celtics gear.
Pierce began the FS1 show by beckoning Skip Bayless to apologize for doubting Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
“First off, Skip, I need an apology to Jayson Tatum,” Pierce said. “You ripped him. You said he couldn’t be the guy. He didn’t have the ‘it’ factor. Lonzo (Ball) will be better than him eventually. Hold on. We need to get some apologies out the way before I get started.”
Tatum ended his seventh consecutive playoff appearance by hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The 26-year-old averaged 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 6.3 steals in 19 postseason games, only three of which Boston lost.
Pierce said it’d take “the whole show” to list everything negative Bayless said about Tatum over the years. But he believes the forward earned vindication by winning his first championship.
Bayless rarely admits when he’s wrong, but the former longtime Dallas columnist delighted Pierce by showing off his black and green Nike sneakers. He paid respect to a Celtics team full of “good guys.”
“This is as likable a team I’ve ever watched. And I don’t like the Celtics. And I especially don’t like them because you love them,” Bayless said to Pierce. “But when they were being congratulated last night, it moved me because they did deserve it. They won it, and they won the season. It was their year. It was their time.”