Paul Pierce Butchers Name of European NBA Superstar He Picked For Personal Award

Paul Pierce and Charles Barkley seem to have been bitten by the same bug. Despite being in the broadcasting industry for years, Chuck has a hard time remembering the names of the players. Even the star players are also victims of his mistakes. Boston Celtics legend Pierce made a similar mistake on his show, The Ticket & the Truth. It’s not every day that we see the 2008 champ praising European NBA players. Recently, in the latest episode of the show, the Truth named a European player and bestowed a personal award upon him.

The candidate is German forward, Franz Wagner. Unfortunately, while praising the Orlando Magic star, Pierce ended up giving him a new name that he may not appreciate. Instead of calling Franz by his correct name, Pierce referred to him as Frank while choosing his Cracking Player of the Year. “My Cracking player of the year is Frank Wagner,” Pierce said.

Despite corrections from those behind the cameras, Pierce seemed convinced that ‘Frank’ was an American name. His co-host and best buddy, Kevin Garnett, reminded him that the player’s name is “Franz.” Nevertheless, the Boston Celtics veteran was confident. “His name is Frank Wagner. That’s his American name,” Pierce argued.

While he may have butchered Wagner’s name, he didn’t mess up while giving him the accolade. The 22-year-old has been a standout performer for an overachieving Orlando Magic team. The German averaged 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the 5th-seeded Orlando. Moreover, his performance yesterday in Game 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers helped the Magic tie the series. He had 34 points along with 13 rebounds while shooting a stunning 76% from the field. Maybe this will help Paul Pierce remember his name.

This is not new for him, though! During his tenure as an ESPN analyst, Pierce made many such mistakes, often mispronouncing players’ names. He once mispronounced Nikola Jokic’s name on live TV. But it’s not always the European players. American players are also not safe.

Instances of NBA Analysts’ hilarious failure in pronouncing player names

The Philadelphia 76ers legend Barkley has become popular for mispronouncing players’ names on live TV. Asking Chuck to pronounce Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Kyle Kuzma might give him a run for his life. Not to mention, he even struggles to recall a name as simple as Jayson Tatum. While praising Tatum’s MVP-level performances this season, Barkley mistakenly referred to him as Jayson Taylor. His TNT colleagues, who love to tease him, rarely show mercy for his mistakes.

CNN’s news program One World’s host, Zain Asher, made a similar mistake. She called the NBA star Pascal Siakam “Pascal Shakeem.” While Siakam was kind to the host, fans criticized her on social media for not remembering the names.

Another renowned name in the broadcasting world is Shaquille O’Neal. In a segment of Inside The NBA, O’Neal discussed Rui Hachimura’s trade to the Lakers last year. As expected, he butchered Hachimura’s name numerous times on the show. While it may be amusing sometimes, many criticize the on-air personalities for not researching adequately before going live.