Paul Pierce vs. James Worthy

[Lebron23]

Who do you think was the better player in their prime?? Both won an NBA Finals MVP, but Pierce was the better franchise player.

[JohnnySic]

Pierce was better. Better overall scorer (could create his own shot anywhere, range out to 3 point land, post game, etc), better rebounder, better passer, and probably a better defender. And spent the first 2/3 of his career as "the man", drawing double and triple teams, something Worthy never dealt with.

Worthy was a better athlete but skill-wise I dont see what he did better than PP.

[IcanzIIravor]

Worthy for me. I am biased as a Lakers fan, but he put up his numbers on a stacked team and his numbers aren't far off from Paul's. Take a look at what Worthy did in the playoffs too. As the man his FG% would decrease, but scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals would shoot up. We would be probably talking about his place in the top 15 to 20 players if not more if he had been the man on his own team.

[superteamtheory]

Pierce.

but mostly just because he can shoot/score more.

Pierce was a franchise player like 94 Pippen was a franchise player or Tony Parker would have been from 2007-2013 with his own team... I don't think these guys were really great enough to lead a team to the Finals as the man (altho Pippen basically did do that, just got a bad foul call, but that Bulls team behind him was special)... But they could get far in the playoffs with help and they made perfect sidekick 2nd option complimentary players. (Pierce & K.G., Pippen & M.J., Parker & Duncan, Stockton & Malone, Baylor & West... etc.)

Worthy is a similar deal I guess but I don't think he'd have been as successful as the man. Same deal with Ginobili if he he'd had his own team say in 2005, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen (yes he made a conference Finals with a multistar Bucks squad but didn't put up best fight vs. 76ers, VC Raps did that year) or an Andre Iguodala (tho he did well with 76ers, 2nd round game 7 loss to Celtics, helped Nuggets have a great season) and other third wheels.. so yeah, Worthy a great player but a #3..

[ImmortalNemesis]

Pierce. Worthy never could have been a franchise player like PP was.

People are going to say Worthy because they're biased towards players from the past. Pierce was a better scorer and all-around player than James ever was.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Pierce was better. Better overall scorer (could create his own shot anywhere, range out to 3 point land, post game, etc), better rebounder, better passer, and probably a better defender. And spent the first 2/3 of his career as "the man", drawing double and triple teams, something Worthy never dealt with.

Worthy was a better athlete but skill-wise I dont see what he did better than PP.

Worthy was the better rebounder.

Defense is very close but I'd give the edge to Pierce, yea.

PP also a better passer but not by much at all.

Yes, James was a better athlete (one of the quickest 1st steps ever too) but Pierce's more skilled and a better overall player... Not like Worthy wasn't above in terms of skill in any area though - like post-game, soft-touch around the rim...

The Truth's above on the all-time list and had a greater peak, even though Worthy was also a great player, who "sacrificed" his numbers and personal accolades for team success; rightfully so.
And as a #2/#3 option, there are "situations" where Worthy would've been a better choice than Paul.

[Kovach]

drawing double and triple teams, something Worthy never dealt with.

Sampson/Olajuwon double team couldn't stop Worthy. He would score on them before they even jump.

[wakencdukest]

They were totally different players. Pierce was more of a perimeter player, better outside shooter and ball handler. Worthy played bigger, was a better post player. Pierce was probably more well rounded because of his perimeter skills and creating off the dribble, but I'd have to say Worthy would absolutely kill him in the low post as he did to most power forwards in the league.

[Rocketswin2013]

Paul and I don't even think it's that close. Pierce was probably the 3rd most complete scorer in his era.