West Linn native and former Oregon Ducks point guard Payton Pritchard participated in the Portland Pro-Am game on Saturday, putting on an absolute clinic by dropping a shocking 92 points in his team’s 165-163 victory.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSk7wRhlWW8/
Pritchard outdid the recent performance of Seattle native and former University of Washington star Isaiah Thomas, who had 81 points in Washington’s Pro-Am game a few days ago.
Pritchard scored in a variety of ways, getting to the rim with ease, scoring on midrange shots, and hitting a lot of three pointers – extending his range all the way out to half court at times.
While the defense certainly left something to be desired (NBA free agent Mike James had 63 points on the other side) this scoring output should not be completely ignored, especially after Pritchard’s success in the summer league with the Boston Celtics.
Pritchard left Boston with an excused absence to participate in the Pro-Am. He averaged 20.3 points and 8.7 assists per game while shooting 57.7% from three point range during summer league, establishing himself as one of the Celtics best young players and a future big time contributor to the 2021-2022 roster.
Pritchard’s accomplishment did not go unnoticed, with plenty of former and current Portland hoopers taking notice of his scoring outburst:
Me and @paytonpritch3 just combined for 100 points…only he had 92 of them🤯
— ben gregg (@bengregg20) August 15, 2021
We need a @paytonpritch3 mural, billboard, or something in the city. This man has done nothing but put on for the whole state his whole life. Check the resumè.. and now 92pts…omg!! 😱🥶
— silas . (@KampaignSilas) August 15, 2021
Pritchard left Oregon as one of the greatest players in school history, and was surprisingly selected in the first round (26th overall) by Boston in the 2020 NBA draft. He averaged 7.7 points and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 88.9% from the free throw line and 41.4% from downtown in just under 20 minutes per game.
He’s expected to be a big part of Boston’s rotation this upcoming season, and while he’s not going to be dropping 90 points in a game anytime soon, this outburst should make Boston fans even more excited about his future with the team.
[listicle id=4441]