5 reasons why Paul Pierce is underrated

#4 When he did win the title, it was with an all-time great team

Pierce with the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2008

The Boston Celtics signed Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett through blockbuster trade deals that belied belief at the time - Garnett was the subject of a 7-players-for-1 trade that had the most players switching sides in exchange for one player (the Chris Paul trade has since emulated this record).

The NBA had never seen three two-way superstars in their prime align their basketball goals in this way, and thus, the eventual championship that the Celtics won that season was attributed more to overall star power than to a single player's play. All 3 players sacrificed their scoring touches in order to help the team win games, and it paid off handsomely for the team - allowing the 3 Hall of Famers to get a taste of the championship champagne.