On Monday, The Athletic published a poll packed with some fun and revealing answers.

More than 140 players were asked questions such as "Who's the MVP?," "Who's the best defender?" and "Who's the league's most overrated player?"

But nothing raised as many eyebrows as "Who's the greatest player of all time?" Somehow, someone cast a ballot for Paul Pierce.

Pierce is an all-time great. He's in the Hall of Fame. He made 10 All-Star teams and won the 2008 Finals MVP. But greatest of all time?! That almost has to be a troll vote.

Since the silent rogue isn't likely to come forward, we're left to guess who might've submitted that ballot.

Employing the principles of detection, the best guesses are below.

Bruce Brown

The most obvious place to start is Boston. Pierce played there from the 1998-99 season through 2012-13. He averaged 21.8 points for the Celtics and led them to the 2008 title.

An active player who was in Boston for Pierce's peak seems like a good candidate for the mysterious voter.

Bruce Brown was born in Boston. He led his high school team to the New England Prep School Basketball Class AA state championship and was named the tournament MVP.

In 2020, Boston.com's Trevor Hass wrote, "Brown grew up watching and idolizing Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, and Paul Pierce."

Ladies and gentlemen, we may have found him.

Georges Niang

Our next suspect is Georges Niang, who was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1993.

When the Celtics won it all in 2008, Niang would've been right in the middle of his teenage years. At that time, kids from that area almost couldn't help but be Celtics fans.

That appears to be the case for Niang.

Last year, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Noah Levick wrote, "Georges Niang grew up in Massachusetts and counted Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Antoine Walker among his favorite players as a kid."

Niang also seems to have a sense of humor. He's gone by the nickname "The Minivan" for years due to his relative lack of athleticism and doesn't seem to mind.

If he doesn't take himself too seriously, maybe he'd cast a joke of a vote here, too.

Pat Connaughton

We're going with yet another Boston guy here.

Like Georges Niang, Pat Connaughton was born in 1993 in Massachusetts. He's another active player who would naturally be a Celtics fan.

In 2019, The Ringer's Alan Siegel wrote, "Growing up near Boston in Arlington, Massachusetts, Connaughton had two idols: Paul Pierce and Pedro Martínez."

Clearly, Connaughton is a suspect.

James Harden

This one feels a little off the wall, especially since James Harden was born in Los Angeles. But he may have blown his cover in a recent profile from The Ringer's Andrew Greif.

"Growing up in Los Angeles, Harden says he studied three central influences who 'formed me into who I am,'" Greif wrote. "Kobe Bryant for his dynamism; Paul Pierce for his physicality, stepbacks, and midrange jumpers; and Manu Ginobili—a fellow lefty—for his downhill drives, side steps, and twisting finishes at the rim."

Pierce also went to high school in Inglewood, California, so maybe the L.A.-raised Harden had an easier time excusing his Celtics years.

Who's to say some ultra-confident player polled by The Athletic wasn't just hoping to avoid voting for Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Maybe it was Harden.

Blake Griffin

Our next suspect is simply here as an answer to the question, "Who in the NBA is funny?"

With all due respect to Pierce, a vote for him in this exercise is likely a joke. Blake Griffin dabbled in plenty of jokes throughout his NBA career.

Griffin has done standup. He participated in the roast of Alec Baldwin. He's been in Funny or Die skits.

Griffin just announced his retirement from the NBA, but maybe he snuck in the vote for Pierce as his final jab as an active NBA player.

LeBron James

Last but obviously not least, we have LeBron James. And the case here is relatively straightforward.

LeBron has been chasing Michael Jordan's legacy for years. The debate between he and MJ has been heated online, in various publications and on TV.

There are good arguments for both, but that doesn't mean LeBron has to acknowledge the one for Jordan, even in an anonymous poll.

So, when he got his ballot, perhaps LeBron's primary motivation was not to vote for his primary competition for GOAT consideration. And maybe right before he turned it in, he felt wrong about voting for himself.

Then, in a final twist before turning in his votes, he remembered Pierce saying he was the GOAT just last year and thought, "Alright, I'll just toss this to Paul."

Sure, we're taking a few more leaps here than we did with our other suspects, but maybe fortune (in detection) favors the bold.