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NBA FINALS: LAKERS v CELTICS

June 17, 2008

Paul Pierce

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Six

Q. Paul, this franchise has so much history. Just how does it feel to create your own history?
PAUL PIERCE: It feels so great, man. Just to work so hard and for ten long years being with the Boston Celtics, just going through my ups and downs, Danny, Doc, ownership, guys sticking with me through tough times, this is what makes those other moments so sweet, knowing that you were at rock bottom a year ago today, and to climb all the way to the top, this is a dream come true, and I'm going to cherish this forever.

Q. What will it mean to hang up your own banner?
PAUL PIERCE: It means everything. You know, I'm not living under the shadows of the other greats now. I'm able to make my own history with my time here, and like I said, this is something that I wanted to do. If I was going to be one of the best Celtics to ever play, I had to put up a banner, and today we did that.

Q. Paul, can you just put in perspective the wait that it took so long for this franchise to get something and finally getting that?
PAUL PIERCE: Oh, my goodness, man, this is just an unbelievable experience. If you're going to win a championship, you want to win one with the Boston Celtics, man. I can't put into words how to describe how I'm feeling right now, just -- (sighing). This has been great, man, this has been great.

Q. And also getting the MVP award, what does that mean to you?
PAUL PIERCE: I mean, I give that credit to my teammates. I just worked so hard to be here, and I'm just so happy.

Q. Can you talk about the commitment you guys made at the defensive end when Kevin and Ray came here.
PAUL PIERCE: You know, it was a stretch there, I was wondering what happened to Ray. I was like, what's going on? But the guys who came in there stepped up, and we was able to make a run. When Ray got back out there, I think it kind of fueled us. We pushed the lead up to over 20 when he came back, and it was just like, hey, it's about to be lights out.
It was good to see him. I thought he was done for the game because he sat for so long and I didn't know what to expect. But once he came back, I think he really rejuvenated us and we were able to push the lead and not look back.

Q. I want you to think back to that day where you and Ray and Kevin held up those jerseys at that press conference. When you guys were all together, what were you thinking about, about the goal you had together and what you guys could do together?
PAUL PIERCE: This is what it is, this is what we talked about. It's one thing to talk about it, another thing to go out and do it, and we did it. It's so gratifying. We got to the point where we were getting tired of the coaches (laughter) every day, but hey, we put in hard work all the way from September, getting here early, going to Rome, staying together, the guys dropping their egos for the good of the team, sacrificing so much. You guys look at Kevin, myself and Ray, we sacrificed so much of what we did throughout our careers to get to this point because we've done everything we've been able to do individually, won all type of awards, but never made it to the mountaintop, and today it's like a breath of fresh air.

Q. What did the three of you talk about back then at the beginning of the season? What were the conversations?
PAUL PIERCE: The conversations were like, hey, we've got a tremendous opportunity. All three of us never played with this type of cast, playing with two other all stars, a former MVP, Kevin. I just knew we had a great opportunity, and that's all we talked about all year long, even through our rough starts. We just said, hey, let's stay focused and stay on the right path and get through these rough moments and let's see what happens in the end. It just seemed like it was camaraderie from day one, just from day one, from the time Ray was traded, talking to him, from the time Kevin was traded, talking to him. This was all we talked about, and it's finally here.

Q. Could you talk about the three of you coming out of the game at the same time with 4:01 remaining, and what were your emotions and what was happening on the bench?
PAUL PIERCE: I just took a deep breath, looked up at the score and said, hey, it finally happened, man. We were so excited. Nothing beats this. The guys were like, man, this was what we talked about. We talked about what kind of trip we're going on now. We've got to go somewhere; we won a championship. So many things just running through our minds on the sidelines. We were just in awe over there, can't believe what's going on. I can't believe still right now that I've got a championship under my belt.

Q. When did you decide that you were going to shower Doc Rivers with the Gatorade? Was that a preconceived notion before the game or spur of the moment?
PAUL PIERCE: Just from watching other sports and throughout the years, all the championships that were won, I was like, hey, what's a championship without a splash of Gatorade. I looked up, and nobody thought of it, so I said, hey, at the 4:00 mark we're going to get him when I knew we had the game sealed. Just waiting for the right moment. It's a tradition and I see it on TV all the time, so I decided to go do it.

Q. Can you just talk about having all these Celtic legends on hand and Bill Russell celebrating with you guys down on the court after the game, what a feeling that was?
PAUL PIERCE: Oh, it's a great feeling, man, just knowing that these guys, what they accomplished and those things that hang over our head every day, and for us to go out there and make history in front of those guys. It means so much more because these are the guys, the Havliceks, the Bill Russells, the Cousys. These guys started what's going on today with those banners. They don't hang up any other banners but championship ones, and now I'm a part of it. And just all the years talking to Bill and John, Cousy, finally just I feel like we've come out of that shadow now and created our own, and now we can stand up and look them eye to eye and say, hey, we accomplished it, too.

Q. As a follow-up, can you just kind of look ahead to next year and assess your chances of repeating? I know it's a bit of an old routine --
PAUL PIERCE: I don't know, let's talk about that tomorrow. Let me enjoy this. I'm going to enjoy this one tonight. I'm going to enjoy this for the next four weeks straight before I go to bed (laughter). I don't see no sleep in my future (laughter).

End of FastScripts

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