Pierce hits another Celtics milestone

When Paul Pierce slid to the Boston Celtics with the tenth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, there was sense back then that the Celtics were getting a steal.

Now, 12 years later, Pierce has proven to be more than just a good pick-up for the C's.

He is nearing the end of his career, a career that he has cemented as one of the greatest Celtics ever.

So with each passing minute, with each game in the books, Pierce carves out just a little bit more space for himself among the Mt. Rushmore of Celtics greats.

Monday's 96-93 win over Minnesota was yet another milestone of sorts for the Captain.

He has now appeared in 917 games for the C's which ranks fifth in franchise history, along with Bob Cousy.

There's a very good chance by the end of this season, Pierce will trail just John Havlicek (1,270) and Robert Parish (1,106) in games played for the Celtics.

Danny Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations, knows all too well the historical significance of Pierce's ascension towards being thought of as one of the greatest Celtics ever.

"Paul has proven what a great player he is in Celtics history," Ainge told CSNNE.com.

"What Paul has accomplished in his career, he is absolutely one of the great Celtics players of all time," Ainge said. "I can only imagine what his career would have been like had he played with Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson and Robert Parish throughout his whole career. When it's all said and done, we can talk about where he stacks up in history, but he's up there with the greats, for sure."