JOY Taylor showed off her cheerleader skills on live television for FS1 during a comical sequence of Speak involving NBA legend Paul Pierce.
The Fox Sports host Taylor, 38, appeared on the program, which saw the Boston Celtics icon Pierce stay true to a previous bet.
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Pierce backed the Celtics in Game 2 on Wednesday to the point where he said he would walk more than 15 miles, while in a robe, to his analyst job at FS1 if his prediction was wrong.
The Celtics would squander a second-straight 20-point lead and lose to the Knicks as they are now down 0-2 series.
But Pierce kept his promise and walked 20-plus miles to the Los Angeles TV set of Speak on Thursday morning.
Speak was live and showed Pierce’s arrival, but it wasn’t any ordinary entrance.
The 47-year-old was rolled onto the set in a wheelchair as cheerleaders with green pom poms cheered him on.
It was a reference to when Pierce got wheeled out of a 2008 NBA Finals game.
Taylor also greeted Pierce with green pom poms to cheer him on.
“There he is. The legs are shot!” she said.
“Welcome back to the studio in style.”
Taylor was then seen waving the pom poms like a cheerleader.
Pierce broke his silence following the hours-long walk and made his way alongside Taylor, Keyshawn Johnson, and Ric Bucher on the TV set.
“I made it, y’all!” he said.
Taylor wasn’t surprised to see Pierce get out of his wheelchair, as the 10-time NBA All-Star managed to return in the 2008 Finals Game after leaving the game in the mobile chair.
“In Paul Pierce fashion, he’s going to pop right out of this wheelchair,” Taylor said.
She then complimented Pierce’s willingness to go through with his bet.
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“Man of his word,” Taylor said as the hilarious opening sequence came to an end.
Pierce filmed himself on Instagram Live during a sequence of his walk.
The walk took him over eight hours to complete.
The Celtics are just two losses away from being knocked out of the playoffs after winning the 2024 NBA Finals.
It’s doubtful Pierce will make a bet for Game 3, which will take place against the Knicks on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Joy Taylor’s media rise
Joy Taylor has risen through the ranks at Fox Sports after joining the network in 2016.
She previously hosted Undisputed – where she moderated between Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe.
Taylor, 37, also worked on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and had her own self-titled radio show.
In September 2022, the presenter was announced as host of Speak, which she currently works alongside LeSean McCoy and Emmanuel Acho.