On Monday, the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Championship, making West Linn, Oregon, native Payton Pritchard the fifth former Oregon Duck to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The Celtics held their championship parade on Friday, and Pritchard made sure not to forget his home state and alma mater, rocking a 1994 Pac-10 champions Oregon Rose Bowl shirt for the festivities.
Boston point guard Derrick White played fantastic throughout the playoffs, which limited Pritchard’s minutes. Still, Pritchard found his way to make an impact in the Celtics’ five-game victory over the Dallas Mavericks. His best performance came in Game 4, the Celtics’ sole loss, when he gave Boston 11 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Once a Duck, always a Duck. #GoDucks @paytonpritch3
📸 @celtics pic.twitter.com/6d9szKI6P7
— GoDucks (@GoDucks) June 21, 2024
Pritchard’s shirt isn’t where the Ducks’ connection to the Boston Celtics parade ends, with Boston parades celebrating on Duck boats. Duck boats are amphibious vehicles used for tours in Boston that are transformed into party boats after Boston sports championships.
The Celtics’ win on Monday night snapped a pattern of coming so close to absolute victory before falling short for Pritchard. At Oregon, Pritchard was a part of the 2017 Ducks team that reached the Final Four, where they fell to North Carolina. Then in 2020, Pritchard’s Celtics fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, and two years later, Boston lost to Golden State in the NBA Finals.
Any championship is sweet. But after coming so close, so many times, it has to feel sweeter.
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