Throughout his illustrious career, Paul Pierce has knocked down 2,138 3-pointers, a mark that puts him fourth all-time, behind only Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, and Jason Terry. In 2010, Pierce won the Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. But during his time with the Celtics, Pierce wasn’t always even the best shooter at the team facility.
On some days, that title went to Celtics equipment manager John Connor. The two met when Connor was the Celtics representative at the 1998 NBA Draft, and quickly formed a close bond. Eventually, their friendship turned competitive, when Connor started challenging Pierce to shooting contests.
“I was like, ‘You want to shoot against me?’ “ Pierce told the Boston Globe. “This equipment guy? What does he know about shooting baskets?”
Most basketball fans, at some point in their life, have found themselves sitting around watching a game, and, after seeing a player miss an open shot, think about how “even they could have made that one.” While it wasn’t during a game, of course, John Connor got his chance to prove himself against the world’s best, and he made the most of it--again, and again, and again. Sometimes for weeks on end.
via the Boston Globe
“I was a big trash-talker, and come to find out he was a big trash-talker,” Pierce said. “And then he’d have his days where he’d beat me, and some weeks he’d consistently beat me, and it’d really piss me off.”
Once, when Pierce lost to Connor as television cameras were filming, he ripped off a microphone and told Connor they were moving back to midcourt. After Pierce won the 2010 3-Point Shootout during All-Star Weekend, he was brimming with confidence. A few days later he and Connor faced off at a Celtics practice at UCLA, and Connor defeated him.
Of course, Pierce won plenty of times himself, because, well, he’s the NBA player. And he made sure his good friend didn’t forget it.
“That’s why I wear the jersey,” he’d say, “and you wash it.”
