National Basketball Association

Paul Pierce: Carmelo the toughest player I've ever guarded; LeBron second

Published Jan. 7, 2015 7:16 p.m. ET

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Who is the toughest player in the NBA to guard?

That’s the question Paul Pierce answered Monday in a first-person piece for the Players’ Tribune.

In the article, Pierce ranks the five toughest covers he’s experienced in his NBA career — a career that’s spanned 17 seasons and three teams.

The result is a who’s who of elite scorers from the past two decades, but the order the Washington Wizards forward places them in is interesting.

The five — with a portion of Pierce's scouting report:

5. Kobe Bryant — Pierce says, "What you have to understand about Kobe’s game is that by taking that many shots, he’s meticulously wearing down the defender until he breaks them."

4. Tracy McGrady — Pierce says, "Every time he elevated to shoot, he got so high up that you were pretty much at his will."

3. Vince Carter — Pierce says, "My mission would always be to not make the Vince Carter highlight reel, so before the game even started, he was already in my head."

2. LeBron James — Pierce says, "He's just a caliber of physical specimen this league has never seen before."

1. Carmelo Anthony -- Pierce says, "Some great players will have one or two particular skills that make them special. But Carmelo can do everything, which puts you in a baaad situation as a defender."

On the New York Knicks' perennial All-Star, yet playoff also-ran, Pierce concludes, "In my opinion, his combination of physicality and shooting touch is unmatched in the NBA. You can't take one second off you're matched against him."

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