When the Boston Celtics were playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals, Celtics small forward Paul Pierce put his name in the annals of NBA lore. During Game 1 at TD Garden in Boston, Pierce was taken off the court in a wheelchair.
But moments later, Pierce notably returned to the game, sprinting back in from the Celtics’ locker room. For a long, long time, NBA fans probably wondered what was going on with Pierce and the wheelchair. Well, Pierce is spilling the beans on the incident.
Celtics Legend Paul Pierce Talks About Wheelchair Incident
Pierce decided to set the record straight during an episode of the “No Fouls Given” podcast, which covers daily hoops while also offering culture talk as well.
Pierce suffered a knee injury during the game, leading to his departure for a period of time.
Paul Pierce talking about the Mystery of the Wheelchair to the locker room during the game
“First of all, who asked for the wheelchair? Did y’all see me ask for a wheelchair? The cameras is on me the whole time. The cameras are literally, if you watch it, the cameras are I’m not… https://t.co/OdHue14qOp pic.twitter.com/b84F3tumbm
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 9, 2026
“First of all, who asked for the wheelchair? Did y’all see me ask for a wheelchair? The cameras are on me the whole time,” Pierce said. “The cameras are literally, if you watch it, the cameras ar,e I’m not like, get me a wheelchair. I’m not like I can’t walk.
“Literally, the trainer was like, Don’t put any pressure on your knee,” Pierce continued. “I’m like, damn. All right. I didn’t say, Hey, get me a wheelchair. Like, come on, dog. Like, the cameras are on me the whole time.
“Like why would I take a wheelchair to go use the bathroom?” Pierce said. “Like it doesn’t make sense that social media continues to do that. Like I have never even had to use the bathroom during the game”.
Pierce played 15 seasons for the Celtics, followed by one season with the Brooklyn Nets, one season with the Washington Wizards, and his final two NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. In his 19-season NBA career, Pierce averaged 19.7 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, and shot 44.5% from the floor.
Now that Pierce has set the record straight about the wheelchair incident, he probably hopes no one else will bring it up again.
