"Where the clowns at today?"- Paul Pierce calls out Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and more for harshly critiquing Celtics

The 16-year championship drought ended on Monday when the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks to capture the league-leading 18th championship. Paul Pierce immediately had something to say to all the naysayers who had their doubts.

Being the Celtics legend that he is, Paul Pierce wanted the critics to match the same energy that they had back then. He reshared a compilation video done by X user CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) that featured doubt from the media's coverage and analysis.

"Where the clowns at today? Can't wait to hear from ya'll lmao," Pierce posted.

The clip included appearances from former NBA players Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley, who weren't sold on the Celtics ahead of their championship journey. Additionally, analysts Stephen A. Smith and Jay Williams also had questions placed on the team.

Despite posting the league's best record this season and only losing two games in the playoffs before their eventual Game 5 victory, Boston received several criticisms from the media. It stemmed from their disappointing playoff exits in prior years while diminishing the success and progress they had garnered along the way.

Last night, the team quashed all the negative narratives associated with them to finally get the job done. From Paul Pierce's perspective, it was time for all the doubters to get their due response after all the questionable takes.

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Paul Pierce's reaction to the Boston Celtics winning the 2024 NBA Championship

After dropping Game 4 on the road to Dallas, the Boston Celtics came out scorching in Game 5 at TD Garden and seemingly never looked back. Following the impressive 106-88 victory, Paul Pierce's instant reaction was shared on X by user Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_).

"I'm so hyped right now," Pierce said. "... Anything's possible."

Back on June 17, 2008, Pierce helped place another championship banner in Boston's rafters after the glory years of Larry Bird's run. Now 16 years apart but still on the same date, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continued the legacy and Paul Pierce could not be more prouder.

Trusting the dynamic between two all-star wings who have gone through ups and downs throughout their careers was worth the risk for the team's front office. However, they didn't stop there, as they chose to surround their two franchise players with proper complementary pieces to bring the best out of them.

"The Jays" had that special connection right from the start of their careers together while going through some necessary growing pains. With all the questions out of the way, they are now the NBA Champions.