"Who The F**k Voted for Paul Pierce FOH": Shocked NBA fans react to Celtics legend included in players' All-Time Greats vote

The debate on who is the greatest player of all time is often held between Michael Jordan and LeBron James, but names like Paul Pierce are sometimes snuck into that conversation. That's what happened when The Athletic released its annual NBA players on Monday, asking who they thought the league's GOAT is among the questions.

As usual, MJ dominated the polls with LeBron coming in as a close second. Kobe Bryant was a far third. The only other current player who made the list aside from LeBron was Steph Curry, who was tied with Magic Johnson, as well as a surprise player, Pierce.

The GOAT debate can be a sensitive one for many, so the inclusion of the former Boston Celtics champion caught many off guard. Many of these fans expressed their shock on X.

"Who the f*** voted for Paul," @TheWiseSole asked.

"Whoever voted for Paul Pierce deserves jail time," @playmaker wrote.

"Paul Pierce think he slick voting for himself," @RichStapless joked.

It seems that not a single fan agrees with Pierce receiving any votes, not even a Celtics fan. Others think that whoever voted for him is simply having fun.

"Lifelong Celtics fan here.... PAUL PIERCE WHATTTT," @imguby tweeted.

"Alright what team was trolling and agreed all to vote Paul Pierce?" @L27C96 asked.

"How is Paul Pierce 6th? The entire Celtics roster voted for him?" @EnsignHoops wondered.

Regardless of the jokes and the bewilderment, the Boston Celtics champion receiving a vote is not that far-fetched. After all, the GOAT debate is subjective, and anyone can use any reason to include any player they want.

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Paul Pierce only received one vote to get 0.8% on the GOAT poll

The Athletic asked players from all 30 teams for its annual poll, which is anonymous. As such, no one will ever know who voted for Paul Pierce. What is known is that there was only one player out of over 100 voters to do so. Based on the data that was presented, 133 votes were cast.

Pierce, Stephen Curry and Magic Johnson received 0.8% of those votes. So, all three of them got one vote each.

So, no, it wasn't the entire Boston Celtics roster that voted for him, although the possibility of this vote coming from someone on that team isn't impossible. However, since the annual poll is anonymous, no one will ever know who it is and learn why that person thinks Pierce is the GOAT.

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Paul Pierce has fewer championships than anyone else on the poll

Paul Pierce, along with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and coach Doc Rivers hoisted the 17th championship banner to the Celtics' rafters in 2008. This was the only title in Pierce's career.

Meanwhile, the two players he tied with, Steph Curry and Magic Johnson, have four and five respectively. Steph's most recent title was against the Celtics (2022) while two of Johnson's five were against Boston (1985-1987).

The late Kobe Bryant, who got 9.8% of the votes, also got a championship at the Celtics' and Pierce's expense when they faced each other in 2010. That was the last of Kobe's five NBA rings and the second of back-to-back titles after he led LA against the Orlando Magic in 2009. However, Pierce's only ring in '08 was against the Kobe-led Lakers.