LeBron James, Paul Pierce

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) takes a shot against Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Feb. 20, 2014, in Washington. The Cavaliers won 127-89. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) ORG XMIT: VZN108

(Nick Wass)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - If last week were indeed Paul Peirce's final NBA game as he hinted, a piece of LeBron James would go off into the sunset with him.

When you think of a James arch nemesis, Pierce's name is likely to come up and vice versa. Retiring after an efficacious 17-year career is undoubtedly understandable, but for James, it would be surreal.

In an interview James granted Northeast Ohio Media Group, he discussed how much Pierce has meant to the league and his career.

"Obviously if he says he's not quite sure about next year, but he's Double-P man," James said to NEOMG. "I've been competing against him my whole career and our battles that we've had, our differences that we've had. But you know one thing about it, when you face him; you're going to always compete. I wish him the best in whatever he decides to do."

Michael Jordan had to get past Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons before going on to win six NBA titles in eight years. James' barrier from securing NBA gold was Pierce and the Celtics.

He played an integral part in pushing and motivating James to work even harder at honing his craft. The two had some classic postseason encounters that included trash talking to the highest degree. When Pierce was a Celtic, his team bounced James and the Cavaliers out of the second round of the playoffs in 2008 and 2010.

However, in three of the last four postseason appearances, it was James and the Miami Heat who sent Pierce and his teams (Celtics in 2011, 2012 and last year with the Brooklyn Nets) on an early summer vacation.

The story of James' career path cannot be properly told without acknowledging the role Pierce played in enhancing and elevating his game. He was an extremely difficult stumbling block that James had to overcome.

"Obviously he gets a Cliff note or a couple notes in my book as far as guys that helped me get over the hump or kept me where I was at the time," James recognizes. "I knew I had to become much better individually. He's one of those guys."

Shaquille O'Neal is responsible for nicknaming Pierce "The Truth," for his smooth, methodical, yet dominating game. And also for always being up to the task to take and knock down clutch jump-shots. He has made quite the living off of final-second heroics.

He nearly did it again on Friday in Game 6 of the semi-finals round against the Atlanta Hawks. With his team facing elimination, it appeared "The Truth" had twirled around the baseline and created space before splashing in a buzzer-beating, game-tying three to send the game into overtime.

The Wizards and the sold-out fans in attendance at Verizon Center celebrated.

But upon video review, the replay showed that the ball was still on his fingertips when time expired. The place was stunned. Atlanta advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history where they will face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The shot was a tenth of a second too late, and just a brutal way for the Wizards to end their season. It was also a brutal way for Pierce to possibly end his career.

"[When] I first saw it and when he got the ball, I knew it was going in," James said of that final play. "I just know how clutch Double-P is. I knew it was going in, but I didn't know if he got it off in time just because he had to make that extra move to get back behind the three-point line after [Kyle] Korver kind of stepped in front of him."

No matter what was said in the heat of an intense and competitive series, James has the utmost respect and appreciation for Pierce and his contribution to the game. When it's all said and done, these two will go down as two of the top small forwards in the history of the association.

They will forever be linked, and it's only right.

"It's great to have him in this league as far as the competition and what he's done not only for the three teams that he's played for, but for himself," said James. "He's probably going to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. His numbers speak for itself. He's a big-time player."