Way before Paul Pierce was this fanatical, chubby uncle sharing his ridiculous basketball takes on sports shows, he was a skinny kid from Inglewood trying to make a name for himself in Kansas. It didn't take long before Pierce demonstrated he was the real deal, but he also had his share of awkward moments.
One was his Jayhawk nickname, "Bambi," courtesy of his KU comrades. Former Kansas teammate Scot Pollard explains the hilarious origin of that nickname, showing that Paul has indeed come a long way since then.
"It didn't take long for us to see how good the kid was gonna be," the 6'11 big man said . "We call him Bambi because he was still so skinny, and he was all elbows and knees. And he would just go into practice, and his elbow would pop somebody on this side and pop somebody over there, and then he would dunk on somebody."
"We're like, 'Damn, Bambi. Take it easy,'" he continued.
Bambi, of course, is a classic Disney character—a young, white-tailed deer with wide eyes and spindly legs. Even as an adult, he maintains a delicate build, and the Jayhawks clearly saw the same qualities in their skinny teammate.
Pierce played three years in Kansas, averaging 20.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists as a junior before entering the NBA Draft.
Jayhawk-Celtics connection
Pollard and Pierce were teammates in Kansas for Scot's junior and senior years before the latter went pro. "Samurai Scot" started his NBA journey in Detroit and carved a successful career as a backup big. He was the primary man coming off the bench in Sacramento for Vlade Divac and Chris Webber, and another strong body to match up against Shaquille O'Neal.
Pollard averaged only 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in his career but made the most out of his role. The former Jayhawks' paths crossed again in the 2007-08 season when Scot signed with the Boston Celtics . By then, the kid they called "Bambi" was already a perennial All-Star and one of the league's premiere scorers.
In a fitting end to Pollard's career, the Celtics won the championship against the Lakers in 2008. "The Truth" was named the MVP of that series, averaging 21.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.2 steals.
Related: Julius Erving believes no player is similar to him in the modern NBA: “I was a small forward, but I really played like a power forward”
The skinny kid became a Hall of Famer
People often exclude "The Truth" from the conversation of the great small forwards, but he was up there with the best of them. Pierce consistently delivered in clutch moments, becoming one of the most reliable and versatile scorers of his era. His ability to get a bucket from anywhere, combined with a fierce competitive spirit, made Paul a cornerstone of the Celtics for over a decade.
Rightfully so, the NBA honored P-Double with a place in the 75th Anniversary team in the same year he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Kansas product has really gone from a skinny, lanky kid to a certified beast on the basketball court.
Related: Allen Iverson was once asked about mentoring Carmelo Anthony: "It's not like, 'Today's subject is going to be this, Carmelo'"
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