Paul Pierce played basketball.
The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award ( formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award ) is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals . John Joseph `` Hondo '' Havlicek ( [ ˈhævlᵻtʃɛk ] ; born April 8 , 1940 ) is an American retired professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics , winning eight NBA championships , four of them coming in his first four seasons . The NCAA Men 's Basketball All-American teams are teams made up of National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations . Paul Pierce . Pierce was instrumental to the Celtics ' 2008 championship run , as he was awarded the Finals MVP after averaging 22 points per game .