Back in the day, Paul Pierce was one of LeBron James’ fiercest rivals. The former Boston Celtics star faced off against James in the playoffs four times between 2008 to 2012, with James’ Heat winning the final two battles.
Before those two postseason victories by the Heat, Pierce and the Celtics were the one opponent James seemingly couldn’t get past as he sought his first NBA championship. But that seems like ancient history now, as he’s now fixated on winning what would be his fifth ring.
Of course, he became the league’s all-time leading scorer in February, and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar currently has 39,257 career points. He’s still playing at his usual high level in his 21st season, and everyone is wondering how much longer he will keep up that type of play.
Another question James’ fans have is how many points he will ultimately score before he hangs up his Nikes for good. Pierce recently said he feels James will reach the 45,000-point mark (h/t Lakers Daily).
“He gon’ finish with more than that,” Pierce said after co-host Kevin Garnett suggested that James will finish with 41,000 points. “How many he got now? … Yeah, he gon’ end up with like 45,000.”
For James to get there, he’ll likely have to play at least three more seasons after this one, or more if he cannot maintain his current scoring pace. It is anyone’s guess how many more seasons he will play, or even how much longer he wants to play in the NBA.
