It feels both right and wrong that Paul Pierce's career may have just ended on a game-tying, buzzer-beating shot - even if it ultimately didn't count.

Pierce and the Washington Wizards saw their season end Friday, as Pierce's desperation heave connected, but was released a split-second too late. The shot was vintage Pierce: an impossibly difficult and immeasurably clutch make. The reason he's here, and all that.

And despite a $5.5-million player option for next season and hints that he could play as far into the future as 2017, that play may be the final memory of Pierce basketball fans have to cherish.

Following the Wizards' elimination, Pierce said he's unsure if he'll return for 2015-16, saying his decision will depend on conversations with his family.

"I don't have too much more of these efforts left, if any," Pierce said. "These rides throughout the NBA season, throughout the playoffs, are very emotional. They take a lot out of not only your body, but your mind, your spirit.”

It's entirely possible that Pierce just didn't want to commit one way or the other so soon after suffering a heartbreaking defeat, and he wouldn't be the first player to call their status into question only to emphatically return later. But Pierce has also said he's "had (his) time," is 37 years old and has earned an estimated $190 million as a pro, making the option year far less of a financial incentive.

The hope for fans should be that Pierce returns, as he's an iconic and incredibly entertaining presence (though he'd also be killer on a broadcast team). That goes doubly so for Wizards fans, as Pierce has been paramount in the development of Otto Porter as a player, Bradley Beal as a trash-talker and the Wizards as a legitimate threat.

He also remains an effective two-way combo-forward. In 73 games, he averaged 11.9 points, four rebounds and two assists, hitting 38.9 percent of his 3-point shots. The Wizards were 5.6 points per-100 possessions better with him on the floor, and they leaned on him heavily for clutch shot-making in the playoffs.

Coach Randy Wittman seems convinced that Pierce has at least another year left under his belt.

"I'd love him back. I think he wants to be back. I don't know, I won't put words in his mouth, but I'd be surprised if he didn't," Wittman said. "I think what he saw with these guys and the heart this team has. Why wouldn't you want to play the end of your career with a group like that?"

Pierce ranks 16th in all-time NBA scoring, 50 points behind former teammate Kevin Garnett and within striking distance of the top-10 were he to play two more years.

"Guys like him that are Hall of Famers never cease to amaze you and I thought he was a real big lift for us this year," Wittman said. "Not only what he did on the floor but his leadership and direction that he gave us in the locker room with these guys. You can't coach that. That's something you either have or you don't. He's got it. He gave us all he could in these two series. We rode him."

If this is it for The Truth, it's only too bad he didn't call "career" when he took his final shot Friday.