The 2008 NBA Finals was one of the most hyped Finals of the 2000s and it sure lived up to the billing. While the Celtics were on the brink of ending their 22-year championship drought, the Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant who ushered the franchise in a new era.
The Celtics were able to finish the Lakers off after an intense 6 games, but one of the most iconic moments in the series came in the very first game of the series which later became a running meme for the generation of the internet. Paul Pierce was the sole creator of the moment but now the opinionated NBA Champion has come out to end that sullying once and for all.
What is the Paul Pierce ‘Wheelchair Game’ meme and how did it start?
Paul Pierce recently opened up about Game 1 of the NBA finals in 2008 between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers when he was being carried in a wheelchair out of the court. Recently, in an episode of “The Truth Lounge” podcast, Pierce extensively explained the story behind the “Wheelchair Game.” In the final minutes of the second quarter, an injured Pierce was carried in a wheelchair to the back only to return later on.
When Jaylen Brown asked him about the incident, he said that he was guarding Kobe Bryant and sliding along with him in different directions to block the Black Mamba. “I’m sliding with him, thinking about going up to challenge him. There you go, there goes Perk right there. I didn’t have no lift. I kind of got up, came down, that’s when I heard a pop in my knee,” the 46-year-old added.
The former NBA player informed that it was the first time he had received a major injury, the only injury he had suffered earlier was a toe fracture. He did not know whether it was ACL or not, judging from soreness and immense pain in his knee. Paul kept hoping grabbing his knee that nothing serious happened at the stage when they had high title-winning chances.
Continuing the story, he said that he tried moving his knee and it moved but with it, he could feel the pain. His teammates and doctors came over to check on him. Keeping his faith alive, Pierce showed them that he could move his knee back and forth, but the doctors immediately asked him not to put pressure on his knee anymore and picked him up and carried him to the back.
Once Pierce was wheeled back, the doctors examined his knee, he felt the pain but his adrenaline kicked in. Explaining why he joined the team again, the veteran said, “I ask for a knee brace, start jumping, doing squats – managing the pain. My adrenaline is pumping; I’m determined not to miss out. If I wasn’t limping, I knew I could push through.”
He joined the Boston Celtics in a 98-88 victory over the Lakers in that game and won the 2008 NBA Championship title averaging 21.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the six-series game against the Lakers.
This whole incident was turned into something else as there were rumors that Pierce had to take a dump, so he was carried in the wheelchair discarding the painful knee injury that he suffered from.
Paul Pierce once denied needing to poop during NBA Finals
Things on social media circle around like wildfire and Paul Pierce became a meme material as the pictures of the infamous wheelchair game took a new turn. According to rumors he badly needed to use the loo. Hence, he had to be taken back in the wheelchair. The former NBA star denied this rumor and claimed this to be a made-up story.
Pierce lashed out at the social media users who modified his pictures and created memes out of a painful experience and said, “If I did poop my pants, why would I sit in a wheelchair? All you little new Generation social media gurus who Photoshop the stain in my pants on Twitter, all you social media wannabes who try to spread wildfire, don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Paul Pierce assumes that the creators were Lakers fans as he crushed their favorite team in the series and ended up winning the Finals MVP.
