Payton Pritchard will be busy during the summer.
The Boston Celtics’ point guard, former Oregon Ducks and West Linn High School star has been named to the USA Select Team.
Pritchard is part of the14-man roster of the USA Select Team, USA basketball announced Monday.
The USA Select Team consists of a group of up-and-coming young players who will practice and scrimmage against Team USA as they prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, scheduled for August 25 through Sept. 10 in The Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.
Pritchard will travel to Las Vegas, where he will join players such as Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Houston’s Jalen Green, Sacramento’s Keegan Murray and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams on the Select Team. The team will be coached by Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley from Aug. 3-6 in Las Vegas.
These players were selected not only to compete against Team USA, but they will be considered for a call-up to replace a member of Team USA in case of an injury.
Pritchard will gain valuable experience as he prepares for the upcoming NBA season by taking on Team USA players such as Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves. The timing couldn’t be better for Pritchard.
Pritchard reportedly had wanted a trade after seeing his playing diminish last season. Pritchard averaged 5.6 points and 1.3 assists in 13.4 minutes per game – all career-lows – over his 48 appearances this season under first-year coach Joe Mazzulla. Pritchard’s minutes decreased even more during the playoffs, where he averaged 5.7 minutes per game while appearing in 10 of the Celtics’ 20 playoff games.
However, the Celtics traded starting point guard Marcus Smart to Memphis and traded guard Grant Williams to Dallas Mavericks. The moves have left the Celtics with three point guards – Pritchard, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon. The trades have given Pritchard an opportunity to earn more playing time during the 2023-24 season.
