los angeles — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former basketball player Paul Pierce was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of drunken driving on a Los Angeles highway, after he was found asleep behind the wheel, state police said.
California Highway Patrol officers responded at approximately 10:40 p.m. to an unrelated car accident involving multiple vehicles on the northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101, closing four of the six lanes for investigation, the agency said in a news release.
When they reopened the lanes about an hour later, they saw a Range Rover SUV parked in the road, south of the scene. Officers saw Pierce asleep at the wheel and “observed signs of alcohol impairment” so they conducted a DUI investigation, the news release said.
He was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge, which will be reviewed by the Los Angeles city attorney.
Pierce did not immediately respond to a message for comment, and additional contact information for him could not immediately be found.
Pierce played for Boston Celtics For 15 seasons, most recently with the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring in 2017. He also played for the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards.
He was a 10-time All-Star and 2008 NBA Finals MVP It was entered in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Pierce was most recently a co-host of Speak, A.J Sports talk show on Fox Sports which was canceled in July 2025.