LOS ANGELES — Former NBA player Paul Pierce was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of driving under the influence on a Los Angeles highway after he was found asleep behind the wheel, state police said.
California Highway Patrol officers responded at about 10:40 p.m. to an unrelated car crash involving multiple vehicles on the northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101, closing four of the six lanes to investigate, the agency said in a news release.
When they reopened the lanes about an hour later, they saw a Range Rover SUV stopped in the road, south of the crash. Officers saw Pierce asleep at the wheel and “noticed signs of alcohol impairment,” so they conducted a DUI investigation, the press release said.
He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, which will be reviewed by the Los Angeles city attorney.
Pierce wrote on his Instagram account on Thursday that he had fallen asleep while being stuck in standstill traffic.
Pierce played for the Boston Celtics for 15 seasons, and most recently for LA Clippers before retiring in 2017. He also played for the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards.
The 10-time All-Star and the MVP of the 2008 NBA Finals was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Pierce was recently a co-host of “Speak,” a sports talk show on Fox Sports that was canceled in July 2025.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.