Payton Pritchard Reflects on USA Select Team Experience: 'Don't Understand Anybody That Wouldn't Want to be Here'

Jesse Cinquini | Jul 14, 2024

Jun 14, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) shoots the ball against Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) during game four of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard isn’t among the 12 players who will represent the United States in the 2024 Olympics. But as a member of the USA Select Team, the 26-year-old practiced with players from the National Team in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Recently, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Foresberg caught up with Pritchard, who said that playing against some of the world’s most talented players served as a good measuring stick as he looks to improve his game.

"I don't understand anybody that wouldn't want to be here, you get to go against the best players in the world, see where your game is at, try to improve."

Payton Pritchard on being a part of USA Select Team pic.twitter.com/hUnrRRwfdJ

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) July 9, 2024

Pritchard served as a valuable piece to the Celtics’ championship puzzle last season. He appeared in every one of the team’s 82 contests during the 2023-24 regular season and impacted winning as a floor spacer (shot 38.5 percent from deep on 4.7 attempts per contest) and playmaker (averaged 3.4 assists per game compared to only 0.7 turnovers).

While Pritchard saw his role for the Celtics shrink a bit in the 2024 NBA Playoffs compared to the regular season — he averaged 18.7 minutes per contest across 19 playoff games with Boston — the former University of Oregon standout had his fair share of memorable moments during the team’s title run.

Namely, he knocked down a buzzer-beater from nearly 49 feet away from the basket that gave the Celtics a 21-point halftime lead in the deciding Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Pritchard’s heave marked the longest shot in the championship series since all the way back in 1998, when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls played Karl Malone’s Utah Jazz for the title.

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