Paul Pierce confessed to a long-standing NBA conspiracy theory about his infamous 'wheelchair injury' in the NBA Finals

via ESPN/YouTube

The case has been closed on Paul Pierce's "wheelchair" game.

• Paul Pierce revealed the truth on Wednesday about a long-standing conspiracy theory about his famous "wheelchair game."
• In the 2008 Finals, Pierce appeared to go down with an injury. He was taken out of the game in a wheelchair, but ran back onto the court moments later and played well to lead the Boston Celtics to a win.
• NBA fans had theorized that Pierce had an emergency, needed a bathroom break, and was not actually injured.
• On Wednesday, before Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Pierce said "something went down" and he had to go to the bathroom.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Paul Pierce on Wednesday confessed to a long-standing conspiracy theory about a notorious moment in NBA Finals history: the wheelchair game.

In Game 1 of the 2008 Finals, Pierce, then with the Boston Celtics, drove to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers. He took a hit and fell to the ground and stayed down.

Pierce appeared injured, was carried off the court, then taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.

However, later in the game, Pierce ran back out onto the court on his own. He returned to the game and helped lead the Celtics to a 98-88 win.

Given Pierce's quick recovery from what seemed like an ugly injury, the internet theorized that Pierce did not hurt himself. Instead, some wondered if he, umm, soiled himself.

The topic had been covered in Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and by The Ringer's Jason Concepcion. Of course, there was no proof the theory was accurate until now.

"I have a confession to make," Pierce said on ESPN on Wednesday before Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals. "I just had to go to the bathroom."

When ESPN's Chauncey Billups asked why Pierce needed a wheelchair to go to the bathroom, Pierce hinted there was an ... emergency.

"Something went down. I just had to go to the bathroom," Pierce said.

Case closed.

• Read more:
• Andre Iguodala gave an eyebrow-raising answer about defending Steph Curry from 'peers' who are 'jealous'
• The futures of Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard seem to be hanging on every twist and turn of the NBA Finals
• NBA mock draft: What the experts are predicting for all 30 first-round picks