Athlon Sports. When it comes to debating the best pure shooters the NBA has ever seen, everyone’s got their go-to list, and it usually sparks some pretty heated arguments among fans and analysts alike.

Former NBA star Paul Pierce made a bold declaration about himself on Thursday. The Boston Celtics great said he was the "best pure scorer" to ever play in the NBA, responding to a comment from LeBron James calling Kevin Durant the "most equipped" scorer in NBA history.

Pierce, a 10-time All-Star who won Finals MVP with the Celtics in 2008, went on to praise Durant for how he “changed the game on the perimeter” as one of the first ultra-tall NBA players to come into the league with supreme guard skills.