- ABC News
- February 11, 2018
BOSTON -- The night before his No. 34 heads to the rafters at TD Garden, Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce detailed how the retired jersey numbers and banners he'll soon mingle with inspired him during his 15 seasons in Boston. The Celtics toasted Pierce on Saturday night at the Four Seasons hotel in Boston's Back Bay. On the night Robert Parish declared Pierce the "greatest offensive Celtic ever," Pierce tried to wrap his head around simply joining legends such as Bill Russell, Larry Bird and John Havlicek whose numbers hang above the Garden floor. "Every day I walk into the practice facility and see those numbers. Every day in the arena, you see these numbers. That was inspirational," Pierce said. "Those numbers hanging up there, those banners, it was like, 'One day, I want to be up there.' I want to be with this franchise long enough because when you look at the numbers and see the accomplishments they made, that was an example for me to try to follow. "That was the...