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Video: Paul Pierce Admits He Needed Wheelchair in NBA Finals to Go to Bathroom

Tyler Conway

In Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Paul Pierce dropped 22 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 98-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

He also apparently, uh, dropped another two elsewhere.

On Wednesday's edition of ESPN's NBA Countdown, Pierce admitted he needed a wheelchair in the third quarter of that game because of a bathroom incident. 

Here's a transcription of the blow-by-blow:

Michelle Beadle: Paul here, 11 years ago today, wheelchaired off the floor for reasons he'll keep to himself.

Pierce: I have a confession to make: I just had to go to the bathroom. 

Jalen Rose: Number one or number two?

Pierce: I had to go to the bathroom.

Chauncey Billups: Why did you need a wheelchair to get to the bathroom?

Beadle, nearly doubled over in laughter: It was that bad.

Pierce: Something went down, I had to go to the bathroom.

Rose: You were streaking?

Pierce: *muffled laughter and a headshake*

This was perhaps the greatest 25 seconds in the history of sports studio television.

There had been longstanding rumors that Pierce's "Wheelchair Game"—in which he was carried off the floor by teammates and then wheeled into the locker room after suffering an apparent leg injury—had more to do with issues up higher than the leg.

However, those had all been unconfirmed. Until now.

Kudos to Pierce for confirming one of the greatest NBA conspiracy theories. He could have kept the truth to himself forever. He could have allowed us to think he was genuinely hurt and allow the rumors to stay unconfirmed.

Instead, he stared at the camera and gave us television gold. 

What's next? Michael Jordan admitting he was hungover during the Flu Game? The Spurs admitting they turned off their air conditioning on purpose during the 2014 NBA Finals to sabotage LeBron James? The Frozen Envelope?

If you need me, I'll be wearing my tinfoil hat somewhere waiting for the next breaking news.

   

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