The case has been closed on Paul Pierce's "wheelchair" game.via ESPN/YouTube
Paul Pierce on Wednesday confessed to a long-standing conspiracy theory about a notorious moment in NBA Finals history: the wheelchair game.
In Game 1 of the 2008 Finals, Pierce, then with the Boston Celtics, drove to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers. He took a hit and fell to the ground and stayed down.
Pierce appeared injured, was carried off the court, then taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.However, later in the game, Pierce ran back out onto the court on his own. He returned to the game and helped lead the Celtics to a 98-88 win.
Given Pierce's quick recovery from what seemed like an ugly injury, the internet theorized that Pierce did not hurt himself. Instead, some wondered if he, umm, soiled himself.
The topic had been covered in Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and by The Ringer's Jason Concepcion. Of course, there was no proof the theory was accurate until now.
"I have a confession to make," Pierce said on ESPN on Wednesday before Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals. "I just had to go to the bathroom."
When ESPN's Chauncey Billups asked why Pierce needed a wheelchair to go to the bathroom, Pierce hinted there was an ... emergency.
"Something went down. I just had to go to the bathroom," Pierce said.Case closed.
Paul Pierce just finally admitted the famous wheechair incident was because he had to go poop pic.twitter.com/cnzojp5KtJ
- Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) June 6, 2019