Payton Pritchard: Boston Celtics Have 'No Bad Blood' For Kyrie Irving

Former Oregon Duck basketball star Payton Pritchard and the Boston Celtics will battle the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, beginning tonight. Pritchard is playing a key role during the Celtics postseason run and has no bad blood for Kyrie Irving.

May 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) celebrates his three-point basket in the third quarter of game four of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Former Oregon Duck basketball star Payton Pritchard and the Boston Celtics will battle the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, beginning tonight. Pritchard is playing a key role during the Celtics postseason run, sparking Boston with determination, attitude and excellent play.

An NBA title would make Pritchard, along with Chris Boucher, the only active Ducks to win an NBA championship.

May 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) celebrates his three-point basket in the third quarter of game four of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

"It's crazy. This is the biggest stage in basketball," Pritchard said ahead of game one. "To reach this point, have the opportunity to come out here and perform and help my team win the championship, it's an honor. Hopefully we can get it done."

One of the major storylines in the NBA Finals is Mavs' star Kyrie Irving playing against his former team in the Celtics. Irving played for the Celtics for two seasons, in which injuries and on-and off-court issues plagued his tenure. Irving elected to leave Boston in free agency.

"I wasn't here when Kyrie was here but there's no bad blood," Pritchard said. "I think a lot of the guys that played with him have admired the way he plays the game. I definitely admire it, too. I take a lot of things. The way he plays basketball is very beautiful. He's an unbelievable player."

"There is no bad blood from us at all."

Although Irving's time in Boston was five seasons ago, Celtics fans are loudly with their opinions that they are not over his departure. Irving says he’ll have a meditative approach to the hostility that awaits from the Celtics fans in TD Garden.

"I think it's the nature of Boston and the NBA," Pritchard said. "When a player leaves like that, fans and people can be frustrated. I think at this point we should just realize how good of a player he is and just give him his flowers for that aspect of it."

Pritchard has shined during the Celtics postseason run to the finals. He is averaging 20.9 minutes per game throughout the playoffs, averaging 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists with a shooting percentage of 48.1 from the field and 45.5 from 3-point range. Pritchard has proven that he can change the tempo of the game with his pressuring defense and floor spacing.

In a full circle moment, Pritchard has a favorite NBA Finals memory as a child.

"The reason I fell in love with basketball in the first place is I watched Dwyane Wade win his first NBA Finals versus the Mavericks," Pritchard said. "I was really young at the time, I might have been seven, something like that. I can vividly remember watching them come back and how incredible he was that series."

The Celtics will battle the Mavericks in a best-of-seven series, beginning tonight. Every game will be simulcast on ABC and ESPN. The full list of game times (PDT) is below.

• Game 1: June 6 at Boston, 5:30 p.m.
• Game 2: June 9 at Boston, 5 p.m.
• Game 3: June 12 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
• Game 4: June 14 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
  
• Game 5*: June 17 at Boston. 5:30 p.m.
• Game 6*: June 20 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
• Game 7*: June 23 at Boston, 5 p.m.

*If necessary