Ranking Paul Pierce's 5 Best Offensive Moves

Undeniably, Brooklyn Nets' forward Paul Pierce is one of the best players to ever step foot on the court.

Pierce has played 15 seasons, all with the Celtics (commendable in this day and age), and year after year he has continued to pump out consistent numbers and stellar play. Despite being 35, around the age when players past their prime usually begin to rapidly decline (see Chris Webber, Gary Payton, Allen Iverson, etc.), Pierce has continued to be consistent.

Pierce's rookie season aside, he has never failed to score less than 18 points per game, and his per 36 points per game have held steadily around 20 the past six seasons, just shy of his performances when he was 27 years old.

This reliability comes from Pierce's unique skill set. While never being the strongest, fastest or most athletic player on the court, he has spent years in the gym refining and honing his series of go-to moves that continue to allow him to create his own shot.

Let's take a look at his best five offensive weapons and see why Pierce will likely continue to play at a very high level as a member of the Nets.

Honorable Mention: Spot-Up Three-Point Shooting

While Ray Allen got most of the attention for this three-point shooting while with the Celtics, Pierce's shot from behind the arc is nothing to laugh at either.

Since 2004, Pierce hasn't shot lower than .350 from distance, with his best season coming in 2009-2010 when he shot .414, then good for 12th in the league.

Pierce's deadly accurate three-point shooting was a catalyst for the Celtics for years. Considering the growing trend of teams utilizing swing players as deep-ball threats, Pierce's sweet three-point skills alone could keep him in the NBA for years.

Plus, who could forget the three that Pierce nailed over LeBron to win Game 5 in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012. Sure, there's an argument to be made that Pierce's shot and celebration were the final push LeBron needed before he started eviscerating teams in the playoffs and finally living up to his potential...but that was a hell of a shot.

5. Quick Fake to Set Up Drive

The one word most often used to describe Pierce is "crafty." I believe that description of him is particularly apt.  

Check out the video above at the 22-second mark. In this clip, Pierce, who receives the ball at a stand-still, makes a lightning fast head fake to his right. This causes the defender, L.A. Lakers' guard Trevor Ariza, to shift left and take away Pierce's ability to drive right.

However, Pierce had no intention of going right and blows past Ariza as if he was a turnstile. One circus layup later and Pierce is headed to the line to complete the three-point play. 

Throughout his career, Pierce has managed to perfect the subtle movements needed to get defenders just off-balance enough for him to capitalize on it. 

We'll see more of this sort of thing later.

4. Jumper Coming off a Screen

As Pierce has gotten a little older and a little slower, he has begun to use teammates much more to create shots.

Case in point: a study done by ESPN's Chris Forsberg revealed that in the last four years, Pierce's off-screen shooting has rapidly gone from one of his least utilized moves to his most utilized. 

As you can see above, Pierce's teammates set an off-ball screen, and Pierce does the rest. He scoops up the pass and jacks up an easy mid-range jumper before a defender can get over to him. Just like that: two points for the Celtics.

Look for this to be a mainstay for Pierce during his last few years in the NBA.

3. Pump Fake

The pump fake is perhaps the most useful move in "The Truth's" repertoire, as it often results in some free throws as well.

As you can see in the video above, Pierce uses the pump fake to draw the defender into jumping to block the shot, before bringing the ball back down, absorbing the contact and jacking up a shot to draw the shooting foul.

Kinda like this. Or this.

But Pierce's shot fake also works great for just moving a defender out of the way for a clean shot, like you can see in this clip here. Against the Heat, Pierce puts up a quick shot fake, causing defender Michael Beasley to fly right by. This allows Pierce a clear path to the lane for an easy layup.  

Just like he drew it up.

2. Spin Move

The clip above is entitled "Paul Pierce with the sick spin move."

I'd say that's pretty accurate. I might also call his spin move slick, but I don't want to get caught up in semantics.

Pierce's spin move is fantastic because he can use it anywhere on the court, and it can set up a plethora of offensive options for him. He uses the spin to set up a drive, a shot, a pass or whatever else he wants.

In the video above, he immediately pulls up for the mid-range jumper. 

In this clip however, Pierce spins past the defender and flies right into the lane for the lay up.

By utilizing the spin move, Pierce is able to keep defenders off-balance and move past them with ease for either a jumper or a drive through the lane.

1. Step-Back Jumper

Unquestionably, Pierce's most iconic and probably best move is his step-back jumper.

Describing the move makes it sound pretty simple. Pierce takes a jab step forward, forcing the defender to backpedal in order to respect Pierce's threat to drive forward. Pierce will then take a hop step backwards and unleash a high-release jump shot over the defender, who by now will be attempting to jump forward and block the shot.

Pierce will get the ball off with plenty of time, and it seems more often than not, he'll see the ball fly through the net.

In the clip above, you can see how he is able to work a game-winning shot against the Knicks, and in this video you can see a vintage step-back by Pierce over Lamar Odom in the NBA Finals.

This move is vintage Truth, and we know we'll be seeing plenty more of it for the rest of his illustrious career.

Filthy.