The Boston Celtics honoured a franchise legend on Sunday as they officially retired Paul Pierce's number 34 jersey.This was the 22nd number to be retired in Celtics history following on from legends such as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.Pierce won a championship with Boston in 2008 and was named Finals MVP after that triumph. He will be remembered as one of the best players to ever don the Celtic green.On a night where he was saluted for his triumphs in Beantown, he was probably paid the biggest compliment prior to his special night by another of the team's true greats.Parish, who won three titles with the C's and was in attendance, dubbed Pierce the best offensive player the Celtics have ever had.This was a surprising comment by the Hall of Famer as he spent 13 years playing with Larry Bird and enjoyed huge success alongside him."I just feel like Paul was more creative," Parish said, per NBA.com. "He was the better scorer than say Larry or John Havlicek. I think Havlicek and Larry and Paul were probably the best offensive players that the Celtics ever had. I think Paul tops that list, in my opinion."

Pierce is the second leading scorer in the organisation's history with 22,591 points, behind Havlicek who had 26,395.

Bird and Havlicek account for 11 NBA championships between them and have both been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It is expected that Pierce will join them when he becomes eligible.

The former 10-time All-Star may not have enjoyed as much success as some of his predecessors but he was certainly a scoring machine during his time in Massachusetts.

Parish spent 21 seasons in the NBA and was part of the second most successful Celtics team, so when he speaks, people listen.

Bird and Pierce played the same small forward position so the comparisons were inevitably going to happen.

The man nicknamed 'The Truth' may have the edge in points but Larry Legend has a higher career field goal percentage (49.6 percent), points per game average (24.3), free throw percentage (88.6 percent), three-point field goal percentage (37.6 percent) and has more assists (5,695) than Pierce.

The thoughts of Parish may create some debate but there's no doubting the talents the two players displayed during their careers.

Celtics fans were fortunate enough to see two of the best scorers to ever play the game and Pierce deserves to have his number hanging from the rafters alongside the greats that came before him.