Boston Celtics honor Paul Pierce by retiring his No. 34

Steve Gardner | USA TODAY

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The Boston Celtics have hung another legendary jersey number in the rafters.

Paul Pierce had his iconic 34 retired during a ceremony on Sunday, the same day the Celtics faced the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nicknamed "The Truth," Pierce wore the green and white for the first 15 of his 19 seasons in the NBA, making 10 All-Star teams and earning the NBA Finals MVP honors on Boston's NBA title-winning team in 2007-08.

#ThankYouPaul for setting the example on and off the court ☘️ pic.twitter.com/ajF4lcEEDW — Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 11, 2018

The Celtics drafted the 6-7 small forward from the University of Kansas with the 10th overall pick in 1998. He went on to average 21.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a member of the Celtics.

Pierce's number becomes the 22nd retired by the Celtics, the most of any North American professional sports franchise.

After the 2012-13 season, the Celtics traded Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster deal that involved nine players and five draft picks.

As his career concluded, Pierce also played for the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers.

He scored 26,397 points in his NBA career, which ranks 18th all-time. He is the second-leading scorer in Celtics history (24,021), behind John Havlicek.

Doc Rivers, Rajon Rondo and Garnett all returned to the Garden for the ceremony.

Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner