This article tells the story of Terry Pritchard, a key player in the Boston Celtics' championship run. It highlights his incredible shooting prowess, particularly his clutch shots from beyond half-court, and his journey from a shy recruit with doubts to a vital member of a championship team.
Terry Pritchard , a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print specializing in the NBA , was witnessing history unfold at Boston's TD Garden. As his son checked into the game with four seconds left before halftime, Pritchard felt the electric anticipation coursing through the arena. From his vantage point, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was keenly aware of what was about to transpire. 'Take a heave,' Stevens recalled telling Pritchard.
'It's not about his shooting percentages. It's about winning. And I love that.' Pritchard's shots often provided game-changing momentum swings, proving their worth far beyond just the point value. This was exemplified in Game 2 when he drained a buzzer-beating 34-footer at the end of the third quarter – his only points of the game – giving the Celtics an eight-point lead.As the Celtics seemed poised to clinch their 18th championship in Game 5, Luka Doncic missed a free throw. Celtics big man grabbed the rebound with two seconds left, turned his head and instantly passed to Pritchard, who was calling for the ball. 'Here's Pritchard,' broadcaster Mike Breen exclaimed, as Pritchard sprinted upcourt, taking one dribble before entering his shooting motion. 'He loves these.' In the heat of the moment, the distance didn't matter. 'It doesn't matter how far it is, it just makes you lock in to a whole other level,' Pritchard explained. 'I don't know how to explain it, but the moment is there and everything slows down – and I just truly believe that when I put it up, it's going in.' The Celtics reserves were already celebrating on the bench as the ball sailed through the air from half-court, raising their arms in anticipation. 'BANG!' Breen announced as the heave splashed through the net, a 49-footer that registered as the longest made shot in the Finals in nearly a quarter century. 'I've been in TD Garden now for 12 years of basketball games,' Stevens said. 'I don't know if I've ever heard it like that – at that very moment.' A frenetic celebration erupted around Pritchard as the Celtics went on to win their 18th NBA title.This season has been an extension, an encore celebration for the 28-year-old Pritchard. He's averaging a career-best 14.1 points and has scored 664 total points off the bench, the most in the NBA. He has made the seventh-most 3-pointers for any player overall – on 41.5% shooting. He has been one of the NBA's best fourth-quarter scorers all season. And when Pritchard brings the ball up the floor for the Celtics, they're averaging 1.21 points per possession – a figure that is sixth best among NBA players who have brought up the ball for 800 or more possessions, according to Second Spectrum tracking. Of that crew, Pritchard is the only one who comes off the bench. Pritchard is a front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year, a candidate for Most Improved Player and a vital piece of a Celtics team that aims to repeat as champion.Pritchard's journey to the NBA wasn't a conventional one. Lon Kruger, then the Sooners' men's basketball coach, told Blake Griffin about a 16-year-old in Oregon who had verbally committed to Oklahoma, and Kruger wanted Griffin to meet him. Griffin obliged. He gave Pritchard a pass to come to the arena after the Clippers faced the Trail Blazers in Portland, and the two met for the first time. 'He was super shy,' Griffin recalled. 'We talked for a little bit, but I mean, dude, when I say he was scrawny, I was like, man, this kid must be nasty on the court.' Pritchard had long known his appearance didn't exactly convey that he was a high-level player – let alone someone with NBA aspirations. Growing up, he wrote in notebooks that he wanted to play in the league, but even his father, a former tight end at Oklahoma, wasn't so sure. 'Obviously, he used to get mad at me because I'd tell him, 'Hey, you got to have a plan B in school,'' Terry Pritchard said. 'And he'd get mad at me and say, 'I'm going to prove you wrong. You don't believe me.'' During middle school, Pritchard would set an alarm for 5:30 a.m., enter the family garage and dribble a coarse, weighted ball for up to an hour, sometimes to the point that his fingers bled. During lunch, he'd run around the school track. After school, he'd work out for another hour. For years he did this at least five days a week. He won four state championships at West Linn High School in Oregon, earned various state player of the year honors and became a four-star recruit with offers from blue-blood college programs. Ultimately, despite the meeting with Griffin, Pritchard chose to stay closer to home to play for Oregon, where he started in the Final Four as a freshman
NBA Celtics Championship Terry Pritchard Sixth Man Of The Year Clutch Shots Boston Garden
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