Tonight was a big night in the world of NBA on NBC. They debuted Sunday Night Basketball, which will be taking place every week (with the exception of next week, Super Bowl) for the remainder of the year. Mike Tirico was on PXP for the opening game between the Lakers and Knicks.
And they included the great Caitlin Clark in their coverage. Seeing her out there covering the NBA is huge, and it will hopefully be the first time of many in the years to come that we can see the GOAT out there.
Of course, Clark’s appearance is being marred by one thing. And no disrespect to Payton Pritchard at all, here. But Reggie Miller, when prompted to pick an NBA comp for the Iowa legend, identified the Celtics starting point guard.
Let’s get into it.
Reggie Miller Compares Caitlin Clark to… Payton Pritchard
Caitlin Clark, who broke numerous records in college, and has in the WNBA already, has had a legendary career. Her first year with the Fever saw her taking that team to the playoffs after they had been the worst the year prior.
Clark has proven to be one of the best deep-ball shooters and playmaker the game has ever seen, shattering a number of records through her first couple of seasons in the W.
It’s pretty easy to tell that being compared to Payton Pritchard is not something Clark liked hearing. The reaction in the video below absolutely says it all.
Now, Pritchard has been a very good player in Boston during his career. He has delivered numerous big performances both as a starter and a reserve. He even made the longest NBA Finals shot in 26 years back in 2024.
But, he’s been a role player during his entire time in the association. Miller based his comparison on the fact that he could make some plays and knock down a few shots.
The one thing the two of them do have in common is their diminutive size for the guard position. Clark stands at 6’0 even, while Pritchard is at 6’1. But it would appear that the comps do stop there.
Clark literally became the all-time college hoops leading scorer. This includes both men’s and women’s games.
By comparison, Pritchard did not even reach 2,000 points scored in his college career. He has not facilitated as a playmaker at the same level as Clark.
This is not a fair comparison to either of these players.
Consistency, Consistency, Consistency
Payton Pritchard has done a lot of good in his NBA career, but has not been able to be consistent. Take this year for example. In his last nine appearances, he has scored 10 points or fewer on four occasions. There are also three games where he has 23 or more points.
Pritchard had a game last week with zero assists and 12 points.
Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA record (RECORD) in just 42 games, for the most 25-point, 10-assist performances. Had she not suffered a major injury during year two, she would likely have climbed even more spots in the record-books.
Pritchard is a good NBA player. Clark is an elite WNBA player. Reggie Miller making this comparison certainly went out on a limb. And it’s not one he should want to be sticking with.
The gravity that Clark generates is unmatched in the W. Pritchard tends to struggle against great competition.
We’ll take it home with this one. If an analyst is going to make a comparison, a good suggestion might be to do a little research before blurting it out.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us .
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Reggie Miller Makes Odd Caitlin Clark Comparison appeared first on Heavy Sports .