Paul Pierce opens up about being stabbed 11 times in 2000 and playing all 82 games that season in a protective vest. He discusses his psychological recovery with family support and later therapy, and criticizes modern NBA load management, arguing players who love the game should stay on the court.
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Thank you.
Man, it's the year 2000 and you get stabbed 11 times. Number one, how do you still manage to play 82 games? It's beyond me. Yeah. And I know you've talked about this story before.
Mm-hmm.
But like, what's something from that story that people don't know? And like I said, I also wanna know how did you manage to play 82 games?
I know, right? I don't even know how I'm alive, truthfully, when I look back at it. You know, I think just the, I think God, you know, I'm a true believer in God. You know, I think, you know, He knows when your time is and it wasn't my time. And I think the only thing, let me tell you something, Draymond, people don't know, but I haven't spoke on, I talked about the incident and being in the club and, you know, being stabbed by like multiple men and 3 different knives. And what people don't know, I played because I played through pain. But that was the only thing that my people Being on the court was the only thing that gave me peace. You know what I'm saying? 'Cause I'm traumatized. I'm in my house, I'm scared, but at the same time I'm paranoid. I'm like, I can't sleep. Like I had to wear like a vest. And this is what people don't know. I have to wear a vest under my uniform. So like a lot of times if I take a charge or I go into the paint, I felt that. It wasn't all the way healed. And I had to just mentally play through that because I know I wanted to be on the court 'cause that's the only peace I got from not thinking about what happened. But for that 3 hours, that 3, 4 hours, that gave me peace. And you know, when you go through a whole day when you can't sleep at night and you sitting around not leaving the house, not going nowhere, you know, wondering if it's really somebody out here trying to kill you, You know, that's not a good mental to be in, you know? So, but for that 3, 4 hours I'm in the gym, I'm gonna be on the court. So I disobeyed doctor's orders. I practiced before I was supposed to practice. I wore this like damn near bulletproof vest or whatever kind of vest that he got for me. And I just played through it until I healed. And I really didn't heal until after the season.
That's crazy, man. How did you manage to stay in Boston another 10 years after that? Like, how long did it take you to start leaving again, to go out again, to live a normal life again in the city where you just got stabbed up by 3, 4 dudes?
Yeah.
Like, how were you able to get back to some sense of normalcy in that city?
You know, it took a while, but I surrounded myself with some family and friends 'cause immediately, I moved out two of my cousins who are same age as me, two of my best friends who I grew up with, and I moved into Boston with me. So I had family around me at all times, you know, people watching out for me. I kept it family and I kept it close. But it took some years, man. It took some years. Even going to the restaurant, dude, I was just, I had security. I'm over here like seeing who know my car. I got 'em standing outside, went inside. And it took some years for me to really start getting back to normal because it got to the point I get real anxious when I got in the crowd. You know, I couldn't do the season tickets holder stuff with the crowd of people, appearances I wasn't doing. So, but the thing that helped me the most was started when I started talking about it to other people. You know, 'cause I held it in for a few years, but then I started talking to more people about it and it helped me get comfortable. But like, just letting it free, letting it out, loosening up. And that's the biggest thing that helped me. 'Cause at first I had a psychiatrist or psychologist, whoever you talk to after. And I had 2 sessions with him and I was like, "Man, I don't wanna talk about this no more." And from that point in, I held it in. But I think talking to people, surrounding myself with love really helped me get through those times. And, you know, I appreciate the people who I was close to and the people I was able to talk to about it. And yeah, it was difficult. And I used the game of basketball to rededicate myself. And I think, you know, for me to take that next step to where I got to, something like that maybe had to happen. Maybe God was sending a message to where like, "Look, you need to refocus, get back in the gym." And I really think from that point on, it elevated my game from that point on.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, some traumatic like that, it does one of two things to people. It's seen you this way.
Yeah, absolutely.
Or it's seen you that way.
Absolutely.
And it's very, like, you're very sure which way that guy went.
Yeah. 'Cause it's drastic. Hell yeah, it can go either way, man. But I was raised by some strong, my strong mom taught me always to just be strong and you gonna get through whatever situation you really gonna get through. And so, That's just the cloth I was built on, and that's why I was able to get through it.
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No doubt, man. And switching gears a little bit, not really, but in the same light of you playing 82 games that year, you play 80+ games 7 times in your career. What is your perspective on this current debate? Load management, guys resting, the 65-game award. You know, you gotta play 65 games in order to be All-NBA, MVP, all those things. What's your, like, how do you view that as someone who played 80+ games 7 times?
I mean, I really don't see the science at the load management because it don't prevent injuries. I play 80+ games, I play 17+ seasons. Without any major injuries. I was lucky. But it's no science to like, if you rest, you're gonna be less likely to get injured. And so I just say this, if you love the game, ain't nobody telling me I can't play tonight. That's just me. And I see that with just only certain people in the league, you know? And then I never seen Bron— Bron, like Bron don't sit down. Like I done seen Bron, coming to the garden, I'm talking about he rolled his ankle like this. And I'm looking like, oh yeah, he for sure done for the night. 2 minutes later, he come back out there, catch a lob, and I'm like, damn, that's crazy. Mm-hmm. Like today, kids roll they ankle, I get it, sit out, or, you know, I play with a dislocated thumb, but it's just different now. I don't know what it is. I think it has a lot to do with, The people around in the organization, the like, the medical staff or these doctors here, they convince us like, "No, this is the right thing to do." And we created more jobs for these people to come into the NBA. And so they got a job to do. And when you got all this big medical team, the medical team wasn't like that when I was in the league, uh, Draymond Green. Now you got more physical therapists in the back room where it was only like one or two.
Mm-hmm.
You got a one that can treat every player and then you got ones that's like, look, you know, no long run, you know, not only this year but your career. But no science is proving that you're not gonna get hurt ever when we do this. So I'm not, again, I'm not with it, but it's the way of the NBA. And I like the 65-game rule actually, you know, because if a guy plays 60 games, how is he better than this guy who plays 72 games and his team is doing well? You know, give it to the guy who's been out there the whole time, you know, these awards. And so I mean, I just think that's the way it should be, man. You know, hold these players accountable. Yeah, if you pressing yourself to play 65 and you got an injury, that's on you. Don't be pressed to make All-NBA. Don't be pressed to do all this stuff. Get yourself right first. And then play. You know, if guys is playing hurt, that's on them. Yeah.
