Paul Pierce confessed to a long-standing NBA conspiracy theory about his infamous 'wheelchair injury' in the NBA Finals

• Paul Pierce revealed the truth Wednesday about a long-standing conspiracy theory about his infamous “wheelchair game.”
• In the 2008 NBA Finals, Pierce appeared to go down with an injury. He was taken out of the game in a wheelchair but ran back onto the court moments later and played well in leading the Boston Celtics to a win.
• NBA fans had theorised that Pierce had an emergency, needed a bathroom break, and was not actually injured.
• On Wednesday, before Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Pierce said “something went down” and he had to go to the bathroom.
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Paul Pierce on Wednesday confessed to a long-standing conspiracy theory about an infamous 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, who appeared injured, was carried off the court and then taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.

Later in the game, however, 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 theorised that Pierce did not hurt himself. Instead, some wondered whether he, um, 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 3 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.

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

Case closed.

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• The futures of Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard seem to be hanging on every twist and turn of the NBA Finals
• NBA mock draft: What the experts are predicting for all 30 first-round picks

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