The NBA is in a place right now where its best players are getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars over a few years time.
Not too long ago, an MVP candidate would be lucky if they got $100 or more million for the duration of their career, but now, max contracts are being handed out like they’re no-brainers.
Which NBA Stars Does Paul Pierce Believe Deserve a Max Contract?
NBA Hall of Famer and Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce believes there are only a select few players who actually deserve that kind of money. He name-dropped three players he thinks are worth giving the full max contract.
On the podcast “No Fouls Given,” Pierce revealed that there are only three NBA players he believes are worth giving a max contract to in full.
“My three max guys right now that’s worth it: Wembanyama, Joker, and Shai,” Pierce said. “…We’re talking 300 (million)-plus. I’ll give you two, but three is a different level. These guys, they’re max based on the value to their team, but if we just really look at the max guys, there’s three guys. Those three.
“The rest of y’all, we’re talking about tiers of player. There’s this tier of player, and then there’s another tier. You guys aren’t this, but they’re getting guys this tier this money.”
When his co-host, Danny Green, mentioned Jaylen Brown and Cade Cunningham being in that same tier, Pierce refuted that, saying that those two aren’t on that level.
Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo not being named is a little shocking because their names come up in the MVP conversation.
Perhaps what works against them currently is the fact that the Lakers’ defense is pretty abysmal, and it’s been easy to see Dončić’s role in that, while Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are struggling just to be in the playoff picture.
Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokić are players whose teams are not only outstanding, but Pierce also clearly believes they are the NBA’s most “unschemable” players, putting them ahead of everyone else.
On a related note, it is surprising that Pierce, who embraced being a Celtic, didn’t show any bias towards his former team with this sentiment by including Brown or Jayson Tatum. It’s easy to pick up on what he’s saying, though.
Pierce isn’t firing a shot at anyone. He’s just saying that with all this money flying around, those are the three players he believes are worth every penny.
