Paul Pierce still thinks the West has more talent than the East: "Star power is still in the West"
With the Boston Celtics winning the 2024 NBA championship, many say that the balance of power has shifted in favor of the East.
For a long time, the West has always been considered the more challenging conference. But with the emergence of young superstars and the return to prominence of 90s powerhouse teams like the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, people are now saying that the East may have caught up with the West.
Paul Pierce, however, does not agree with that statement. According to the Hall of Famer, the Celtics' triumph is the only reason for the East's apparent re-emergence. However, there are still more stars who reside in the West.
"All the star power is in the West. You still got LeBron, Curry, KD. Then you look at…you got Ja, Zion, Luka, Ant-Man, Joker. You still got them young stars in Sacramento. Then you got these young stars coming up in Houston," Pierce saidon the Ticket and The Truth podcast.
West vs. East
17 out of the last 26 champions came from the Western Conference. According to an article from Sportico, the eighth seed in the East has had a better record over their West counterpart only three times since 1999.
As far as Pierce talking about star power, it's more than just having the big names reside in the West. Since 1999, more players from the West have been selected to the All-NBA teams than from the East. Since 1999, there have only been five MVP winners from Eastern Conference teams: LeBron (4x), Giannis (2x), Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, and Joel Embiid.
Four of five teams can win the West
The Truth then discussed how competitive the Western Conference is right now. He mentioned that this past season, the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks were good enough to knock off three higher seeds and advance to the NBA Finals. In the East, however, the playoffs were more predictable.
"I think the East is still behind the West as far as elite teams and star power," added Pierce. "You got one team, the Celtics, and it's everybody else. In the West next year, it's hard to say who can come out of the West. You got four, five teams who could come out of the West."
Out West, many are saying the Minnesota Timberwolves could be the team to beat. But then you can't sleep on the Denver Nuggets, who won the title in 2023. Then there is the Oklahoma City Thunder who was the top seed in the West last season.
