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On Thursday, Pierce stood by his comments, saying he is entitled to his opinion.

"That's what I said. I am a confident player and a lot of people might look at it like 'Oh, another cocky attitude,' but I don't look at it that way," said Pierce, who is in town for his annual youth basketball camp at Hangar Athletic Xchange.

"I have an opinion, I have a right to have one and that's the way I feel. I felt I've played against the best over the years and felt right now that I'm the best player in the world."

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/best ... yer-bryant

How can this not be seen as pompous?

Paul Pierce = Delusional. Thank God he's not on Team USA...

Pierce isn't delusional, he's confident, 2 completely different things. Confidence goes a very long in the NBA, and it's the main ingredient from turning a good player, into a great player..

But he's so clearly NOT the best player in the world, its funny....

What gets me about this is that this is a topic on EVERY TEAM FORUM, more or less. The guy is entitled to his opinion, and he backed it up by being the best player on the best team in the postseason. I don't agree with the guy, personally, but I am not going to make a big deal out of this. It isn't like he is claiming to be the best of all time.

Jase wrote:What gets me about this is that this is a topic on EVERY TEAM FORUM, more or less. The guy is entitled to his opinion, and he backed it up by being the best player on the best team in the postseason. I don't agree with the guy, personally, but I am not going to make a big deal out of this. It isn't like he is claiming to be the best of all time.

but the best player on the second best team > best player on the best team

He's in La....hopefully people treat him bad

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:But he's so clearly NOT the best player in the world, its funny....

So what? He believes it. If Pierce went into a game not believing he was better than Kobe, than he's already giving an advantage to the Lakers.

ChocolateThundr wrote:

Jase wrote:What gets me about this is that this is a topic on EVERY TEAM FORUM, more or less. The guy is entitled to his opinion, and he backed it up by being the best player on the best team in the postseason. I don't agree with the guy, personally, but I am not going to make a big deal out of this. It isn't like he is claiming to be the best of all time.

but the best player on the second best team > best player on the best team

I agree with you. But Kobe didn't prove it. No one on the Lakers was able to contain Pierce. He was too strong for any defender. Kobe got shut down. This is just Pierce getting his moment, since he knows it may not last.

Kobe also chose not to step up to the challenge on both ends, and took the easier assignment of guarding rondo, rather than trying to stop Ray Allen or Pierce, who both scorched the Lakers. People seem to forget that there are two ends to a basketball game. Kobe may be able to defend better than Pierce, but if he tries to save himself for the offensive end, it doesn't matter.

He's still on that emotional high from winning the championship. I don't think anybody in the world, even people in Boston seriously can say Paul Pierce is the best player in the world. Jase, I agree with you. This is his moment, he can have a little fun for now.

You need that kind of confidence to succeed in the NBA. Ask LeBron or Kobe the same question and don't be surprised if they named themselves. Hell, ask Nash the same question when he won his 2nd MVP and I guarantee he'd say his own name.

AIfan3 wrote:

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:But he's so clearly NOT the best player in the world, its funny....

So what? He believes it. If Pierce went into a game not believing he was better than Kobe, than he's already giving an advantage to the Lakers.

He comes off as extremely arrogant. The Finals are over now, he's got nothing left to prove. He's been talking smack ever since they ended.

He needs to just sit back and let his game do the talking, IMO.

let him enjoy his timee....it prolly wont lastt to long

let him enjoy his timee....it prolly wont lastt to long

Olympics > NBA Finals

If Kobe shines in the Medal rounds.. He will be the best player in the world. Let's all just wait a couple of weeks.

Just because he won Finals MVP doesn't make him the best in the world. With that logic, you might as well say that Tony Parker is better than LeBron. You also might as well say that if Team USA wins the gold medal, they are all better than Pierce because they beat every other team in the world.

I'd take Kobe Bryant on my team over Paul Pierce and day of the week. I'm not saying that Pierce sucks, i'm just saying that IMO he's not as good as Kobe. That Boston Celtics team defense was pretty awesome though.

I'm not trying to be a backseat mod(although I should be a mod by now, it's an outrage that I'm not a Global Mod yet, right?), but why does this have it's own thread? this topic is stupid enough to begin with..it's just confidence..there aren't many people in the world that believe Pierce is better than Kobe..leave it alone..

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:

AIfan3 wrote:

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:But he's so clearly NOT the best player in the world, its funny....

So what? He believes it. If Pierce went into a game not believing he was better than Kobe, than he's already giving an advantage to the Lakers.

He comes off as extremely arrogant. The Finals are over now, he's got nothing left to prove. He's been talking smack ever since they ended.

He needs to just sit back and let his game do the talking, IMO.

If you haven't already noticed, a vast majority of NBA superstars, are arrogant, self centered ego maniacs. Guys like Lebron, Kidd, Kobe, KG, Shaq etc. all have inflated egos.. It's part of what makes them so good. Few superstars are as humble as say, Tim Duncan or Dwyane Wade..

I also don't believe Pierce was talking smack to rub it in the Lakers face. He was just speaking what he felt. And honestly, I don't blame him one bit for saying or feeling that way.

Pierce isn't even the best player on his team.