How does Pierce compare as a Celtic

Now that Paul Pierce has been in Boston ten years, it's appropriate to evaluate him in terms of other great Celtics from the past. Of course, with only one championship, he can't begin to compare with most of them on that score - after all, Boston has won 17 NBA titles. However, purely based on stats, Pierce is among the best.

He ranks #1 in three-pointers, #3 in free throws, #4 in NBA Efficiency and #5 in defensive rebounds. A more visible stat is scoring. His scoring average as a Celtic ranks second only to Larry Bird - and even then, not by a lot. This is especially noteworthy considering the Celtics have averaged significantly less ppg during Pierce's career than during Bird's. Of course, it is important to also recognize that after 10 years, his average will almost certainly begin dropping.

Shown below are the all-time top Celtic regular season scorers per game (minimum 8 seasons).

Player	Seasons	PPG
Larry Bird	13	24.3
Paul Pierce	10	23.1
John Havlicek	16	20.8
Antoine Walker	8	20.6
Tommy Heinsohn	9	18.6
Bob Cousy	13	18.5
Jo Jo White	10	18.4
Dave Cowens	10	18.2
Bill Sharman	10	18.1
Kevin McHale	13	17.9
Sam Jones	12	17.7
Robert Parish	14	16.5
Bill Russell	13	15.1