We said it when Isaiah Thomas dropped 81 points in his Seattle Pro-Am outing and we’ll reiterate that same take for Payton Pritchard’s 92-point eruption — 92 points is 92 points. Of course, it’s not the NBA, but the fact that the Boston Celtics guard nearly pulled off a Wilt Chamberlain as he pushed towards 100 points at the Portland Pro-Am game this past weekend is nothing to scoff at.
Hell, most can’t put up that type of production at the hoop in front of their driveway while being defended by nothing but air. But of course, instead of praising both IT and Pritchard’s performance and simply taking them with a grain of salt, some have instead chosen to slander the legitimacy of the Pro-Am competition. Count former Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young into that group.
The one-time NBA champion took to Twitter, making it a point that he meant “no disrespect,” which, as is typically the case, was of course quickly followed with just that.
“I mean no disrespect but Seattle and Portland gotta have the worst pro am hoops they letting ppl score 92 81 70 50 50 come on y’all stop getting ppl from in front of the liquor store and telling them to come hoop lol,” Young tweeted.
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Nate Robinson Challenges Young
No not to a boxing match. Instead, the three-time NBA Slam Dunk contest champion challenged Young to come out on the Pro-Am hardwood and put his money where his mouth is.
“come on bro u have played in hella @drewleague games and haven’t scored 37 like my bro @isaiahthomas lol that was it 2nd game in the drew lol.. dnt down play of PNW hoppers .. u can come play Sunday @thecrawsover and see if u can get 40 I bet u can’t on ur best day lol but feel free to try bro,” Robinson stated on Instagram.
This wouldn’t be the first time Robinson and Young have exchanged blows over social media. Following Robinson’s much-mocked boxing debut where the 11-year NBA veteran was knocked out by Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, Young clowned Robinson for not living up to his claims that he’d represent his “NBA brothers” in the bout. (h/t Fadeaway World).
Tonight I’m fighting for my brothers in the NBA, athletes across the world, and most importantly my children. #tysonjones #holdat
That was no representation of the NBA Family lol
Pritchard Has Dominated the Summer
Pritchard has been on quite the tear this summer. From following up his 92-point showing with a 57-point performance in a second Pro-Am game to a dominant Summer League performance where he looked like the best player on the court more times than not, the Oregon product looks destined to make some noise in Boston’s point guard rotation this season.
In three Summer League games, Pritchard averaged 20.3 points, 8.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He also shot 51.4% from the field, 57.7% from beyond the arc and 88.9% from the free-throw line.
Pritchard’s brilliant showing in Las Vegas was a key catalyst in helping the Celtics advance to the Summer League championship against the Kings. And while his work looked to be complete in Sin City after leaving the team for an excused absence, Pritchard appears to be returning to the fold in time for Tuesday’s 9 p.m. tipoff. “Back in Vegas on Tuesday for summer league chip!” Pritchard wrote on Twitter.
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