NBA great Paul Pierce said he carried a gun around for two years after he was brutally attacked in a nightclub as a player for the Boston Celtics.

During an appearance Thursday on the “All The Smoke” podcast, Pierce recalled the moment he nearly lost his life in September 2000, revealing he was so “paranoid” he had around-the-clock police surveillance put in place.

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"It changes you, dude. You don't know where to go, you don't know who to look at, you are on your toes. You're like really on your toes, like, 'Man, I'll kill somebody,’” he said.

Pierce was 22 years old when he was stabbed three times in the stomach and five times in the back after talking to a woman inside the Buzz Club in Boston on Sept. 24, 2000, TMZ Sports reported.

"People don't know this, but I actually carried a gun for two years right after that," he said. "I was so paranoid. Like, I kept it in the car, I had it on me, I was so paranoid after that. I was just like, I couldn't be in crowds. Something like that happens to you, man, it's traumatic."

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Pierce was able to recover and return to the court, where he later would go on to win the NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008.