NBA legend Paul Pierce gives advice to Conor McGregor: ‘Be smart’

NBA legend Paul Pierce is in Australia for UFC 243 and the former Celtics star gave Conor McGregor some sound career advice.

Here’s what Pierce told Submission Radio when asked if he had any sort of advice for McGregor, who has dealt with his fare share of troubles with the law (h/t BloodyElbow.com).

“The thing about being on top is that you have so many people pulling on you. You got so many eyes watching you,” Pierce said of McGregor. “So the person you were years before, before you became the megastar, you have to adapt to being a superstar, understand that people are going to try and pull you down. So, you have to be smart, be smart in what you do, what you say, how you act in the public eye. Because now you’re looked upon as a champion, as a person who rose to the top while other people are trying to pull you down. So, you have to change your ways, in so many ways, if you want to stay on top.

“Now if you don’t do that, as we saw, he fell from the top of the mountain. Can he get back there? Absolutely. But he’s going to have to change some things.”

Pierce compared McGregor to fellow NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who bounced back from sexual assault accusations early in his career to become one of the most-loved basketball players of all-time.

“I don’t know if there’s one piece of advice, but I think that you learn from your experiences,” Pierce said. “Some people, they get to the top of the mountain and then they get pulled down and they have to grow. We saw that with Kobe Bryant. He did his trial and the things he went through, and then he went back to the mountain top. So you learn, you move on, you mature and you grow from it.”

Do you agree with Paul Pierce’s advice for Conor McGregor?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/1/2019.