Boston Celtics great Paul Pierce has been arrested on a drunk-driving charge, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The retired NBA champion was found asleep in the driver’s seat of his Range Rover while it sat in the middle of traffic on the congested 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday.
CHP officials say that section of highway had been closed down to allow a crash investigation to occur. When the highway was re-opened at around 11:30pm on Tuesday night, Pierce was found sleeping at the wheel.
‘Officers noted signs of alcohol impairment [in Pierce] and conducted a DUI investigation,’ read a department statement.
‘Pierce was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, a violation of California Vehicle Code 23152(a), and taken to the CHP Central Los Angeles Area office.’
Since retiring in 2017, the 47-year-old California native has worked as an NBA analyst for two sports cable stations, both of which ultimately fired him.
Boston Celtics great Paul Pierce has been arrested on a DUI charge, according to the CHP
In 2021, Pierce was let go by ESPN after livestreaming himself playing poker with bikini-clad women as the group enjoyed some alcohol and marijuana.
The Truth, as he was known, would find himself at Fox Sports’ FS1 in 2024, where he served as a regular contributor on Undisputed with Skip Bayless. That show was later cancelled and Pierce moved to another show, Speak, which was also shut down.
Pierce’s playing career is best remembered for his Finals MVP performance in 2008, which when he won his first and only NBA title alongside Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and James Posey.
A 10-time All-Star would later be packaged in an infamous deal that sent him and Garnett to Brooklyn, where he and the Nets would reach the second round of the NBA playoffs in 2014. The Celtics, meanwhile, used the draft capital acquired in that deal to assemble a roster that ultimately won the 2024 NBA crowd – the franchise’s 18th.
Pierce and his ex-wife Julie Landrum have three children: two daughters and a son.
