Pierce saddened by Kobe's injury: 'He's an icon'
Paul Pierce has had some intense battles with Kobe Bryant over the years, but from one future Hall of Famer to another, The Truth admits he's saddened by Bryant's latest injury.
"It always saddens me, knowing that Kobe, who is one of my NBA brothers, we lose [him] due to injury," Pierce said before his Washington Wizards took on the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, as reported by ESPN's Baxter Holmes.
Bryant will undergo surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on Wednesday, and it's expected that the 36-year-old will miss the remainder of the season. Pierce sees that as a blow to the league, despite the Lakers' irrelevance in the standings.
"A lot of fans around the league pay to watch Kobe, a lot of fans around the world," Pierce said. "Regardless of how the Lakers are doing or not, he's an icon. He's a player who defined his generation."
"We're one of the last two of our generation," Pierce added.
Pierce and Bryant faced off on opposite sides of the NBA's most historic rivalry, with Pierce's Celtics and Bryant's Lakers splitting two Finals meetings in three years from 2008-2010.
Those battles and years of trash-talk don't stop real from recognizing real.