Paul Pierce stabbing, explained: What to know about 2000 incident involving Celtics star

In 2000, Celtics’ small forward Paul Pierce was stabbed at a nightclub. He suffered a collapsed lung and was worried he was going to die.

Pierce was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He would go on to play 19 years in the NBA, but his career got off to a rough start. Pierce himself was fine, as he averaged 16.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in 48 games as a rookie on his way to finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting and making the All-Rookie First-Team.

However, going into his third season, Pierce was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here’s more about the night in September of 2000 when he was stabbed at a nightclub. 

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Paul Pierce stabbing, explained

Pierce was attending the former Buzz nightclub in Boston. He was talking to a woman when an altercation developed. We don’t know all the details, but it ended with her brother hitting Pierce in the head with a bottle and stabbing him 11 times in the neck, chest, and back. Pierce had to have lung surgery to repair all of the damage. Here is what he said about it.  

“It was a shock. I didn’t realize how badly hurt I was until after the incident, and the doctors told me what was going on, what happened to me. I didn’t realize how much my life was in danger until after it was all over with.”

Pierce said that an inch in either direction could have ended his life. Three men were eventually arrested for the incident, with two being convicted after a three-week trial in 2002.

Pierce has talked about the incident numerous times in interviews, revealing not only the physical damage from the attack but also the mental effects. He said he suffered PTSD after the incident, which led to his addiction to pain medication. To combat this, he eventually created “The Truth CBD.” He was given the nickname “The Truth” in 2001 after a great game at the then-Staples Center against the Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal. 

Despite the moment in Boston that almost took his life, Pierce embraced the city. He was with the Celtics until 2013, winning the 2008 NBA Finals. He then spent a season apiece with the Nets and Wizards and two years with the Clippers to end his career. Pierce considers Boston home, and the Celtics retired his jersey. 

“Without a doubt, this city raised me. I’ve been through a lot. I mean, I had almost a tragic incident where I was stabbed a number of times in this city, and it could have gone to the point where I wanted to leave. I even thought about maybe, ‘I’m in danger here.’ But it was just like, you know what, I embraced it. I moved on from it.

They took me in as one of their own, man. So I feel like the things that I’ve been through in this city, on and off the court, from an immature kid to a grown adult, I’ve spent more years in the city here than in any other city in my life. Growing up in Los Angeles, I was born in Oakland, raised in Inglewood, and went to Kansas, so all those years were broken up. Spent 15 years here, I can definitely say this city definitely raised me.”

Paul Pierce career stats