Paul Pierce recently talked about how his beloved sport gets harder for athletes as they get older.

“It was against San Antonio at home. I was running up and down the court and I was like why can’t I get up and down the court?”

After being questioned by his mother the next day about being hurt, Pierce said, “Mom, I’m just getting old.”

Pierce gives credit to aging athletes like Carmelo Anthony and their ability to conserve energy by changing the way they play a position, but still keeping the intensity on both sides of the court.

Pierce alluded to the fact that he knew when his body had aged too much for him to keep up competitively.

“These young guys started going by me on the court and I knew it was time to hang them up.”