The 2010 NBA Finals still gets talked about for the highly competitive matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. NBA fans were treated to another chapter in the iconic rivalry between the top two teams competing for a title. Kobe Bryant won the Finals MVP for leading the Lakers throughout the series, but he struggled in Game 7 to make it an interesting race.
Celtics legend Paul Pierce recently revealed on Byron Scott’s podcast that he felt Pau Gasol deserved the Finals MVP:
“I actually thought Pau should’ve been the MVP. He kind of dominated. He was killing, he showed his toughness and you could tell that 24 (Bryant) put that battery in his back. You saw it in that series. That was the difference because Pau had the skills, he was just missing that toughness.”
Gasol had the better Game 7 to make his final performance look deserving of the Finals MVP Award. However, Bryant did have a strong overall series by averaging 28.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Gasol averaged 18.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to make it a closer race. Bryant received more votes since he averaged 10 more points and was the leader of the team.
Does Paul Pierce Have A Point?
Pierce is not the first person to have this opinion since Boston ultimately found a way to slow down Bryant in the final game. The entire series should be considered, and voters rewarded Kobe for his role of leading the offense all seven games. Lakers fans typically side with Bryant deserving the award for his role as the leader.
The comments from Pierce praised Gasol more than he insulted Bryant, and he did raise a fair point. Gasol played some of the best basketball of his Hall of Fame career and had to answer questions about his toughness against legends like Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Lakers fans don’t stand for Kobe slander, but Pierce made sure his comment was more about praising Gasol for his improvement in 2010. Most would have likely voted Bryant due to the overall counting stats standing out most. However, Gasol deserved some consideration for his tremendous series.
Paul Pierce Does Respect Kobe Bryant
Past interviews and quotes have shown that Pierce valued and respected what Bryant gave to the game. The Lakers vs Celtics rivalry featured both legends leading their respective franchises to play each other in the NBA Finals two times over the course of three years.
One memorable quote saw Pierce saying that Bryant defined their era of basketball and helped the league grow to a better position. Celtics fans even showed their respect to Kobe at the end of his career during his retirement tour from 2015 to 2016.
Pierce riling up Lakers fans is just the latest controversial comment since he loves talking during these podcast interviews. Bryant’s Finals MVP will never be taken away from him, and fans view those two NBA Championship wins in 2009 and 2010 as what defined Kobe’s greatness most.
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