Paul Pierce drew the curtain on a stellar 19-year NBA career last season and finally bowed out of the game at the age of 39. The Los Angeles native is a future Hall of Famer and will be best remembered for his 15 years wearing the green of the Boston Celtics. Although he spent the final four years of his career away from Boston, his legacy with the franchise was already cemented and his famous number 34 jersey will be retired one day. It'll be difficult for any player to put on the famous green and white jersey and emulate Pierce and live up to the standards he set, but in this year's draft, the Celtics might have found the natural heir to 'The Truth'. With the number three pick, the Celtics selected Jayson Tatum from Duke University and his performances in the Las Vegas Summer League in recent days have caught the eye and led to comparisons with Pierce. In last night's encounter with the Los Angeles Lakers, a sell-out crowd was in attendance as all eyes were focused primarily on L.A.'s Lonzo Ball. Despite Ball's triple-double, it was Tatum who stole the show as he led the Celtics to a win with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

“He reminds me a lot of Paul Pierce when he was young," Celtics Summer League coach Walter McCarty said.

"He has that ability just to be cool. He doesn't get too frantic. He doesn't get nervous. He just lets the game come to him. And he's got a quiet swag about him. It's really fun to watch him when he does it. I get excited just watching him. And we've just got to keep building on that."

McCarty spent eight years as a player with the Celtics and played with Pierce so is better placed than most to make the comparison. 

Tatum's calmness and ability to be unfazed by anything on the court is a big factor that is leading people to compare him to former Boston star.

In the win over the Lakers he displayed a real calmness on the court but he also displayed a cold-blooded moment when he casually knocked down a 35-foot shot at the buzzer and nonchalantly pointed to his mother in the crowd.

Having seen the success that Pierce went on to achieve, there's no doubt that McCarty will likely convince the rookie to study videos of the Celtics legend and look to emulate his game in more ways. 

With Pierce now retired, it won't be a surprise if he pays a visit to Boston himself to work with the 19-year-old at some point during the season.  

Some of Tatum's game definitely resembles the 10-time All-Star and it's no coincidence as he was certainly a fan of his. 

"Paul Pierce was definitely one of my favorite players," Tatum said. "Just his ability, his footwork, and his ability to create his own shot. He's not the most athletic guy and neither am I. So just finding, like, the way he found ways to score at a high level. And consistently. That's the things I looked at."

As well as talent, Pierce had a ruthless mentality and competitiveness that allowed him to be successful and that's something that cannot be taught. 

If Tatum has the drive and the mentality that the Celtics number 34 had, he could one day be spoken of as a legend and have his jersey hanging from the rafters at TD Garden. His journey starts now.